Sigh. Please understand. I’m an actor. I act, tell stories, all for a living. My job is not to respond to every demand placed upon me from an audience on the Internet. I don’t do those things because I don’t feel it’s right to ask. I don’t ask those things of my gardener, the guy at the car wash, or the kid who bags my groceries. Why ask it of someone because they are an actor? Is that being fair? The argument could be made that its only one request, but then how many people would be unhappy that it wasn’t their request I responded to? Not all actors care about things like this, but I do. It’s just a product of my experience. The more people push, the meaner it gets, the more uncomfortable it is for me. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I hope we can all put it in the past with no hard feelings. I don’t have any.

Hi. I’m the chick who asked for the twine picture a billion years ago (in internet time). Thanks so much for finally answering this question. Without a response I had no way of knowing if you were okay with me continuing to joke about it or not, but now that I know I can happily give up my ridiculous quest. Thanks for responding and I wish you luck in your fabulous career. Please know that I only chose you because you seem like a good sport, you’re as active on twitter as I am and I’ve always loved your work.

Just to answer a few other questions brought up here in the comments, I did originally offer Nathan $750 for himself or for his charity to take the picture (because as an author I’m a big fan of his get-kids-to-read-charity). After that it just became a running gag that I thought wouldn’t hurt someone of his stature from my little blog. When I go on book tour (leaving again in a few days) “Has Nathan Fillion ever held twine” is the number one question I get. People love you and so they want that connection with you and think it’s easy to think that we all have a one-on-one connection with you.

On the other side of the coin, I’m asked for ridiculous things and pictures all of the time and try to do them because I only have 1/6th of the twitter audience that you have and so it’s easier for me. Also, my only job is to be a storyteller so I have much more time to be ridiculous. (And I’m not referring to being a “famous blogger” which I would never classify myself as. I {surprisingly} have a book on the NYT list about all the ways that I have mortified myself. It’s a very thick book.)

I do appreciate you taking the time to answer this and from now on when people ask if you’ve taken the twine picture instead of answering “I still have hope” I will say that you’ve respectfully declined and I’m sure my fans will just be happy that you responded.

Thanks for not having any hard feelings and good luck with all you do in the future!

In related news (and this is the last I will say on the subject out of respect for Nathan Fillion’s feelings) my husband is my gardener, the guy who washes my car and the person who helps me with my groceries and he said he didn’t really want to pose with a ball of twine either.

I also think he has a point, but on the other hand, if he had simply provided the picture of himself holding twine, this never would have gotten as big as it did, and he would look like a good sport. Instead, he seems like a petulant child. Just my two cents.

I’m glad that you posted this. I saw something similar from NF on Twitter or a news-y site about how he doesn’t interact in certain ways with the audience/fans/etc. It is always good to remember that actors are people to and that they don’t have a job requirement to do everything we ask of them.

Or as I usually put it, the shyest (the one with the most restrictions for whatever reason) person wins.

I submit that becoming an actor puts one in the public domain and subjects one to all kinds of outlandish requests that one would never make of one’s gardener, chauffeur, or grocery-shopping-helper. Such as the request for a signed photo. Would you ever ask your gardener for an autograph? Not much difference, is there. Unless Nathan Fillion also feels that he is “above” giving autographs.
The man is entitled to his opinions, however his logic is flawed.

It’s like the end of an era… maybe he’ll start reading your blog and see how HILARIOUS you are, and he’ll BEG for you to take this picture of him holding twine!! The ridiculous should be the thing that keeps us human… life gets TOO serious most times. Thanks Jenny!!!❤

I think this is brilliant. I respect his stance on the matter but I think if Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick), Will Wheaton, and other celebs can take 2 second out of their day do fullfill a silly request that would gain him publicity and noteriety w/ fans then he could/should… its free advertising and promotion for himself… So I don’t see why he wouldn’t want to take a picture w/ a ball of twine. I now will forever carry twine w/ me in the off chance I meet him and can get a photo w/ him and I will hold the twine… Just for you Jenny cause in my head we are already bfffffff even though I have never met you I know we would be friends like if we lived in the same neighborhood or sent our kids to the same school or fought over the same metal chicken… you know whatever…

Great reply! The fact that you mix your hilarity with meaningful, humanitarian charity-efforts makes you more than just some crazed fan. Unfortunately, some people get your humor, others do not. Until then, we can continue loving Will Wheaton and his collated papers all the more.

You. Simply. Rock. You are intelligent, funny, charming, compassionate, and an all around class act. Sadly, there will always be differences of opinion on humor. Yours tickles me pink! And when all is said and done, YOUR sense of humor is the one that made it to the to of the NYT bestseller list.

What impressed me the most was how people twisted the whole thing. Unbelievable! You were classy through it all, Jenny as it should be. Answering him and still being the you that we (your readers) all love and appreciate. Hugs and kisses.

I’m glad to hear this is finally being laid to rest. Like Sarah, the pressure to make him hold twine was making /me/ deeply uncomfortable, when it was obvious quite some time ago that he wasn’t interested in playing along.

Knowing that he does not have a sense of humor makes me like him less as an actor, I am not going to lie. But you were very respectful to him.. Also who would not want to take 2 seconds to earn $750 for their charity? Whatever.

Actually I’m going to stop following him on twitter because I really think he is coming off as an a-hole. He may be a super nice guy in real life. He may be a giant d-bag. I don’t know. But it you can’t just laugh and enjoy the silly things in life then you are taking yourself way too seriously. Just my opinion and I wish Nathan nothing but success in his career.
Speaking of career success – I think the Bloggess is doing very well in that category dear Reddit.

Come on man, this blogger is really at the end of her rope with this twine debacle.
Tempers are fraying.
I’d rather you guys knot start one of those threads
I think someone might cotton on to what we’re talking about soon
We’ll be fucked if this information gets released to the noose.
We’ll have to pull the wool over their eyes
Leave Nathan Filament alone!
Am i in twine for a pun thread?
Weave all been waiting for you to arrive.

Well, there goes the touchdown dance I’ve been painstakingly working on for over a year now for when this finally happens. But, we’ll just have to reflect upon how insanely cool Matthew Broderick with an unsolicited spatula is.❤

Good to know he answered and good on him for that. It’s always been the “why hasn’t this jerk responded” or “what is Nathan Fillion doing with his time if he’s not holding a ball of twine” or “Why do carrots make me scratch down there”. We have an answer and for me that answer is good enough. I’ve stopped the daily delivery of singing telegrams to him and his agent now.

In related news, I am more than happy to pose with a ball of twine for you. You just have to get your ass to Calgary and come by for a BBQ. And bring your gardener, the guy who washes your car, and the one who helps with your groceries. We have a big backyard.

My two cents worth: we all have our own code for what we will willingly do or say in a public context and I think, just as Jenny is doing here, we should honor those codes. There are folks who are more than willing to drop trou in public, for example. Please don’t get mad if I don’t follow suit!

I may be in the minority, but I respect him for being honest about this and I can see where he’s coming from. Not every celeb is a Wil Wheaton, just like not all of us have enough the same personalities. I have to respect that. And, honestly, the longer this has gone on, the more uncomfortable I’ve gotten FOR him, because I have a very low tolerance for awkward and uncomfortable.

“I’m an actor, I tell stories,” blah blah blah! You’re an actor who isn’t even mainstream, get over yourself! It was a funny pic and the money would have benefited a good cause, also- since you don’t read minds and you don’t control internet minions, there was no way to have known Sir Nathon Fillion has such a large stick up his regal ass, and that your requests annoyed him. It wouldn’t have been hard to send A tweet declining your request. It wasn’t difficult for other actors to oblige, -without a request, even! I think you’re the epitome of class, and while I support YOUR continued support for The Duke of Sci-Fi, or whatever (I’ve only seen him in “Waitress” and he played a douche), *I* have just added to the part of my brain that classifies most actors as delusional, full of themselves, and essentially Nobodies without fans.

Nathan can do (or not do) what he wants and I respect that. But I just saw him at a charity panel at Comic-Con in San Diego and he performed all sorts of strange requests for substantially less than $750. My guess is he feels he’s been painted into a corner and now can’t back down.

I think that while he has a point, he clearly has NO idea that you are a benchmark for humor among the “actor” set, including actors with finer resume’s than his. I mean, for donkeyballs sake, Ferris Bueller, Shaun of the Dead and 7 of 9 held kitchen items for you! You hang out with The Wheaton! Cool bands perform in your bathroom! This proves to me that (a) he does not have a fine tuned sense of whimsy (b) he takes himself way too seriously and (c) he is not a good sport. It is not like you were asking for a picture of him in his underwear. HOLD THE DAMN TWINE AND TAKE THE CHARITY MONEY. That is all I have to say.

Eh, I’m a huge fan of him but I agree that he totally missed the point. I guess his sense of humor isn’t what I expected, so I must change my expectations of him. His loss. I’m happy that other “famous” people found your request to be hilarious and took pictures in the spirit of the asking(or the one-up-manship that Matthew started).

Here’s the deal. I’ve met Nathan Fillion numerous times doing the job I do. He’s not the nicest guy. He wants to think he’s the nicest guy, but really, he’s one of those Johnny Depp “I’m just an actor why do you think you have the right to ask me to do anything but act” types. He completely chooses to ignore the fact that he is a cult favorite and that disappoints me so so very much. His answer to the fan who asked about the twine was exactly what I expected from him, a pretty much douche response. Will I continue to watch all things Nathan Fillion, sure will, because he’s good at his job. Will I be a “fan”, not really. Because he annoys the shit out of me with his holier than thou attitude.

Well…that’s sorta silly of him. I’m pretty sure his gardener ISN’T a famous actor, which would explain why he doesn’t get ridiculous requests on the daily. When you choose to be in the public eye, you sorta open yourself up to stuff like this. At least Wil Wheaton gets it.

Is this when we start filling youtube with ‘LEAVE NATHAN FILLION ALONE’ vids while holding twine?

KIDDING.

i totally respect Nathan for the very nice way he said “i can’t do all the things all the strangers ask me to do”. BUT, I’m kind of shocked he never knew it was a joke? that is the impression I get, anyways.

it was always funny because nathan fillion was never going to send a picture of himself holding twine, because he is a famous actor and responding to random tweets would be ridiculous. which is also why the random tweeted pics to you from other famous actors holding objects is even more hilarious.

I realize I could be permanently banned from reading your blog for saying this, but I have no idea who in the heck Nathan Fillion is. I DO know who Whil Wheaton and Matthew Broderick are and they are good sports. And also for the record, if I had a car washer or gardener or housekeeper I would totally ask them to pose for a photo with a ball of twine. So maybe next time he should pick a role in a comedy, study humor and then maybe he would understand that the funniest woman on the planet asked him to have some fun. PS: You are Classy McClasserson.

I still think you’re the winner in this whole… thing. And I have a hard time trusting people who can’t embrace the whimsy, so I’m still looking sideways at the Fillion. But not in a omg! I hate him! way. Because, seriously.

I absolutely agree with Diana and Stina. We wouldn’t ask it of the gardener because the gardener isn’t famous. Unless, say, your gardener was Martha Stewart and then you might ask her to take a picture of herself with twine or in an orange jumpsuit or whatever. And instead of looking like a good sport, he looks like a snob. On the other hand, I never gave Will Wheaton a thought because as the youngest child I wasn’t allowed to like Star Trek because it was my sister’s favorite and she would beat me up if I did. It was her thing and I was to keep my nose out of it. But now I think Will Wheaton is absolutely the BEST. Anything he is ever in again, anything he does, I will be out there supporting him.

And anyway, his photo bomb picture was so, so much better than a picture of Nathan Fillion holding twine.

And…I bet if you asked James Marsters (Spike if Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or even Joss Whedon they’d do it. Pretty please? Can you?

I can’t help but find him mildly douchey right from the initial “sigh” in the response. Like others here, I am way better than Nathan Fillion and I’m eager to pose with a spool of twine for you, but all I have is a big spool of embalming thread. I’m going to do this and hope it makes the world a better place.

I’m very disappointed. I thought he was more fun than that. An actor indeed, to make me project a much more fun and layered personality onto that pretty face. I just don’t think Castle will seem nearly as charming and sexy next season. I’m a little heartbroken, really.

ha, i don’t understand why people think less of him for choosing not to do it. it’s not like he was a dick about it, just a different kind of person. just like wil wheaton (thank goodness) is a different kind of person for thinking it’s hilarious to do it. it’s kind of like a thing that starts because it’s random and ridiculous and awesome and if you spontaneously ‘getit’ then boom, Jeri Ryan and a spatula, if not then you get Jenny’s hilarious photoshopped Fillion with twine. no matter what it’s a win/win.

someone takes himself too seriously, you’re a public figure so you’re out there…sorry. He’s just being stubborn and a spoilsport. I’m sure if you had a gardener with a sense of humor he would have posed with a piece of twine. Friggin Matthew Broderick did it, and I at least know WHO HE IS!!

No, you wouldn’t ever ask your gardener or bag boy for a picture with twine but they don’t make boatloads of money because they’re famous. This is the price of fame… it’s not like it’s news. I’m sure he doesn’t turn down better seating in restaurants and invitations to exclusive places that his gardener wouldn’t even DREAM of getting. I didn’t even know who Will Wheaton was until he took that picture and now I get giddy at even the mention of his name. Part of being famous is appreciating the people who make you famous. Will gets it. Nathan obviously does not.

Fair enough, but I wouldn’t have known who Nathan Fillion was without having read about him here. So. I can understand his point, but really? Is he a big celebrity? WIth overwhelming fan requests? Maybe I’m totally out of touch, but I haven’t watched a single item from his IMDB resume. His twine holding would have been my introduction to his supposed greatness! I understand his feelings, but yeah. It’s all kinda off-putting, because it’s hard not to feel like he’s all ego and no sense of humour.

Whereas then you have Wil Wheaton, whose career I’ve never followed closely, but now I want too, you know? Because he’s got a sense of humour about himself, and looks adorable collating paper.

I agree- we will always have Will’s photo bomb. I’m gonna give old Nathan the benefit of the doubt. I bet he does have a sense of humor. But it probably gets old, having people recognize you everywhere you go, and because they recognize you, they feel a connection to you, so they interupt, barge in, say inappropriate stuff, make demands, etc. Heck, I get peopled out and I’m only dealing w/ about 300 FB friends and 10 peeps that want to hang out often. I don’t know how famous people do it. Let’s cut him some slack and be grateful for the celebs that enjoy our particular brand of fun! Derr!
—Abby Farle

I get this, I do, and I love Nathan Fillion anyway, but he does silly stuff with other actors all the time so it feels a bit disingenuous to say he doesn’t think he needs to respond to the public in this way. and he’s in the public eye in a way that gardeners aren’t. He’s chosen a profession that banks on him being adored by his public. I think one of the drawbacks is that the public wants a bit of interaction with his public persona. As we really have no actual access to him (and fame means that he gets paid buttloads for us to want some public interaction — that’s what fame is based on), these are the sort of small requests that I just don’t think it would hurt him to concede on.

I think ALL of your fans should send you pictures of us holding twine. It turns out we’re not too famous to do so. Yet.

That’s a fair point that he makes. It has to be hard for a person to live in such a fishbowl especially when you’re just trying to make a living. There are folks who take things like this too far.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have no idea who Nathan Fillion is. I mean, I know he’s an actor and he’s been in movies and stuff. But I’ve never seen any of his work. The only way I know his name is through this website.

It’s kind of a hard thing all around. You kind of can’t win no matter what you do.

I certainly respect his opinion though and his choice to not do it.
Can you try for Liam Neeson to do it? Mostly because I love him…..

I was thinking that he could have a better sense of humor about it but then I also realized that we Lawsbians / misfit minions are a big and rowdy bunch. I can’t even begin to imagine what a PITA it must have been for him to see all the twine tweets he was getting. There were times when he must have gotten hundreds a day.

Now, this does not mean that I will not cackle with giddiness when it’s written into a script for him to hold and/or discuss twine.

Also, his response just makes me love Wil Wheaton and his “Don’t be a dick” mantra that much more.

“Diana August 3, 2012 at 10:07 am
I also think he has a point, but on the other hand, if he had simply provided the picture of himself holding twine, this never would have gotten as big as it did, and he would look like a good sport. Instead, he seems like a petulant child. Just my two cents.”

I think he kind of comes off as taking himself way too seriously here. Which is a huge turn off.

However, had he responded early on we wouldn’t have gotten all the awesome pics from others.

Wil Wheaton probably wouldn’t respond to my request to play a game of TIcket To Ride online, but the fact that he collated paper for you and photobombed the Nathan Fillion picture (with twine in his pocket), among all the other crazy awesome things he and Anne do for everybody all make it so I really, really don’t care if my wish is granted. I’m not so selfish a person that I can’t revel vicariously through others who get the privilege of having their dreams/mundane requests fulfilled by a famous person.

I understand you’re trying to call off your army, Jenny, but really, who mentions their gardener in a post where they’re trying to relate to the every people?

The moral of the story is this: Wil Wheaton is awesome. And Neil Gaiman too. You know why? Because they were kind to you because YOU’RE a human being.

Who is Nathan Fillion?
As a public figure who’s very income depends on his having fans, he is quite ungracious.
He is at the edge of the “Dixie Chicks Syndrome”@ cliff. That’s when famous people who depend on the public to watch their movies, buy their music, and purchase related items feel they have a right to say and do whatever they want to do just like any non-public figure. What they fail to realize is that non-public figures have to be responsible and accountable for what they say and do – they do not get a ‘get out of jail’ free card if what they say or do is offensive – they lose friends and possibly even their jobs. Public figures have a much larger group of ‘friends’ and if they are going to say or do things that offend those ‘friends,’ the ‘friends’ are going to leave them.

I agree with #50, Shawn. I think Nathan just didn’t realize that this wasn’t something that would pass away quickly. Unfortunately, a simple “Sorry, but if I do that for you, where do I stop” right off the bat would have been so much better. But yeah, we all have our boundaries, and need to respect that. Love you Jenny.

It seems to me that 30 seconds to a minute of his time would have ingratiated himself on a host of fans and gained himself some new exposure. It just makes Wheaton, Broderick, Jillette, and Ryan look extremely gracious and generous, as well as loads of fun!

Ditto what Diana said. Until you mentioned him I’d never heard of this guy. Now thanks to him being uncooperative he as made himself quite a name among bloggers. Petulant child or clever marketing tactic? Who’s to say?

Well, it was a great run of fun while that lasted, but yes, I suppose I understand his reasoning *even though I totally understand why so many other actors DID hold the twine for you (because of your awesomeness)*

Classy all the way around. I hope that people will respect his feelings and leave him alone now. Jenny, if I’m able to get into your book signing in Tempe next weekend, and if I bring a ball of twine, would you take a picture with me and we could both hold the twine? 🙂

WELL…that came off just as pompous as I assumed it would. BUT – having had the same situation happen with me requesting the presence of one JENNIFER ARCHIBALD LAWSON at my dinner table, whilst she was on the last stop of her book tour, in SEATTLE…and being a complete and utter annoyance on The Twitter, the same Jennifer Archibald Lawson, politely and graciously declined my offer for my WORLD FAMOUS..OKAY IT’S JUST 55th STREET FAMOUS…PASKETTI DINNER (not to mention that my hubby was actually willing to bake her some of his BLOCKWIDE FAMOUS BREAD…). I hold no malice towards my Blog hero, however…for I realize that she’s a busy son-of-a-bitch.

I think I’ve decided to DELIVER my PASKETTI – on the eve of her book signing. It’ll probably be the BEST DINNER DELIVERY SHE’S EVER GOTTEN…EVER! So…just look for the chubby gal standing next to a GORGEOUS blonde – who just happens to be Jess from PNN (word up to my PNN peeps) – and my rather TALL, LANKY hubby. We will be giggly and will try very hard not to get arrested because we love you so much and will probably want to hug you and hold your hand and stuff.

If he had just posted this part,
“The argument could be made that its only one request, but then how many people would be unhappy that it wasn’t their request I responded to? Not all actors care about things like this, but I do. It’s just a product of my experience. The more people push, the meaner it gets, the more uncomfortable it is for me. Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. I hope we can all put it in the past with no hard feelings. I don’t have any.”

…I would totally respect him. The first half, however, makes me want to stab myself in the eye with a sharp stick.

I’m a big fan of Nathan Fillion. Huge. But I have to say that his lack of being a good sport in this has dulled the shine a tad. You have a hysterical blog, and Wil Wheaton got this. Nathan Fillion didn’t. Makes me sad. No nerd idol is perfect, I guess.

You know what Nathan Fillion says is fair enough BUT it occurs to me that I’ve seen him do a behind-the-scenes video, probably on the set of Castle, where he was hilarious but undoubtedly obnoxious to the whole crew, on camera. He definitely put them on the spot and filmed it and the Castle producers released it, and from the way the crew were acting he might not have asked permission beforehand. I’m just saying, he’s been on the other side of this particular coin. Just because those people are crew members for a tv show rather than gardeners doesn’t require them to dance like monkeys for him either.

I think you handled it beautifully! As a fan of NF, I was sad to see his response, not because he refused to do it, but the way he reacted to it. He could have made a joke out of it, or he could have contacted you privately and simply asked you to stop. Furthermore, found it very condescending and think your response was awesome!!!

A classy way to end this whole thing, but I think the only thing NF accomplished was making himself look like a stick in the mud. I have to be honest I was thinking about catching up on Castle on DVD but now I’m conflicted as to whether or not that is how I want to spend my money.

If you had asked him to take a picture of himself hanging upside down by his toes, naked, over an open firepit in Laredo, eating a popsicle and reciting the preamble to the Constitution, I could see him respectfully declining. Holding a ball of twine and taking a picture falls just a smidge short. And really, if you don’t have a sense of humor that extends to something like that, then I’m afraid I don’t have the time to watch your shows or otherwise support your career in any way. I’ll stick with my Bloggess, and her compassion, empathy and beautifully warped sense of humor. Jenny, from one not-so-good-little-Texas-girl to another, you rock. *hugs*

I’ve been a big fan of Nathan Fillion since finding Firefly years ago. That said, I agree with most of the comments here and on the Bloggess’s Facebook link. Although I can see his point, I think he’s being petulant about this…no sense of humor. Would Wheaton handle it the same way?

I have found this rather amusing. the whole time though, I have been asking, “Who is Nathan Fillion?” Obviously I did not care enough to look him up. I still do not know who he is, and REALLY do not care now. Seems very much a jerk. You may take a high road if you please, but his response was pious and egotistical. I see a future where no one is asking him for a picture, sans twine or otherwise.

(Totally different Diana than #14) It’s too bad that he didn’t decide to take a photo with twine, when there were so many others who were willing to join in on the fun. However, having said that, I totally understand why he didn’t do it. As a celebrity, and one who is so active with his fans as he is, he has to be able to draw a line somewhere in terms of what he will do to accommodate his fans and it’s not up to us to decide what he should and shouldn’t do.

I still love Nathan and I probably love Jenny a little bit more, they both handled this with class, and if they ever met and provided us with a picture of them together (with or without twine), it would be a little bit like heaven. But for now, I’ll take them separately and love them separately. And with feeling.😉

I second the suggestion to write a book that’s pictures of famous individuals holding things. Pictures by celebs, words by Jenny. Let us know when you’re done, we know you already have a head start. Okay. Go.

Can I just say that while I totally respect his right to deny some or all fan requests, and even to make a policy of it, I find it leaving a bad taste in my mouth that he thinks it is unfair that fans even ask, and that he has to respond? He has a job based on being popular. Being admired by and asked for things by strangers is part of the territory. He may not like that part of his job, but who likes every part of theirjob or every thing that goes with their job? If he has a policy of not respondhe just had to say that (in the public forum he uses to feed his popularity, an appropriate place to ask) and it would have been dropped. Getting offended by it is kind of pathetic and lowers my opinion of him. (Sorry for anytypos, phone being weird)

Until recently reading your posts on Twitter about this, I had NO clue who he was, what Reddit was, or what an AMA was. Admittedly, I still kind of don’t. But anyway, tthis will make for a great story when you’re on Ellen!!🙂

The beauty of TheBloggess’s humor is how wonderfully quirky, off-beat, unique, and truly original it is. Those of us reading here, for the most part, appreciate, enjoy, adore, GET that humor. No humor is universal, though. Her’s is perhaps a little less universal than many. If you “get” the twine request, it is funny and charming and harmless. Wil Wheaton, Matthew Broderick, and almost everyone reading here gets it. If you do not see the inherent fun, silliness, adorableness of the humor, Nathan Fillion’s response is both fair and appropriate. Without “seeing” the humor, the twine request is demeaning and frankly mean. He also couldn’t possibly respond to everyone with a similarly embarrassing request. What we find in Nathan Fillion is pretty simply. He doesn’t get Jenny’s humor. Oh well. We do. His lose. If he did get it, he’d play along. He doesn’t, so given that he doesn’t ge the humor, leave him alone and let him continue to do what he does best… act.

I came late to the Nathan Fillion/Twine party, but I still, totally don’t see what the big deal is about holding a ball of twine. I respect his opinion, but I don’t understand how it could possibly hurt him to do it. It’s silly and it’s fun and it would have made a lot of people giggle, which we all need so much more.

I hate to admit that I had no idea that this whole thing was going on until I read this post. I saw him mention something on Twitter about Reddit earlier but I’m still not sure what’s happening. I’m part of the crew that hopes that once he reads your extremely intelligent response that he’ll do it. Hope I won’t be let down.

Jenny, you’re awesome. Sorry you had such a crappy week, and I hope your next week is amazing and totally makes up for this one. I’ll always be a Nathan Fillion fan thanks to Firefly, but I’m definitely disappointed (and surprised) he didn’t appreciate the spirit of this request. I think we need to get Joss Whedon to hold twine, just because I bet he’d do it. So, to sum up: you’re awesome.

In an age in which you can take a photo of yourself and immediately upload it to the Internet, I don’t appreciate Nathan Fillion’s position at all and I think he’s being an incredible snob. How many celebs DID respond to your request for ridiculous pictures? Even Matthew Broderick did, and I would have judged him snobbier than NF back before this all began–no particular reason, I just got that vibe from him. The fact that he was willing to take half an hour (if that) of his busy life and be silly for all of us says a lot of good things about him. (I don’t like absolutely everything about him even now, but I do appreciate his sense of humor.)

This is going to affect my willingness to follow anything NF does in the future. As an actor and entertainer, the very essence of his life is all “LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME!”, yet when we ASK to look at him, he balks? That makes no sense. The simple fact is that he’s afraid of looking stupid. And he could have seen for himself the amount of adoration poured upon every other celeb who went along with your meme, and discovered otherwise. If he had wanted to be bothered.

Mad props to you for being such a good sport about this. I probably wouldn’t have been. But then that’s why you’re famous and I’m not. My penchant for being butthurt over stupid things like this tends to repel people. 🙂

(I say “stupid things” in the sense of “it’s stupid to get hurt over something this minor.” I still thought it was awesome the way you took a silly spam message and went out of your way to make fun of it in the most surreal manner possible. And hey, all the hilarious celeb participation, in the end. Epic. Win.)

Jenny, I think you’ve handled his response very well. That being said…

Nathan Fillion wrote:
“I’m an actor. I act, tell stories, all for a living. My job is not to respond to every demand placed upon me from an audience on the Internet.”

That is basically saying, if you’re not paying me to do something as part of my trade, or not a member of my group of friends, I want no involvement. What if someone asks him for an autograph? Does that means he won’t give it unless it’s at an appropriate signing event because he might get overwhelmed by the requests to follow?

Had he taken the time to see the humor involved and then, those following participants in the twine saga (Simon Pegg, Matthew Broderick, Wil Wheaton, Penn Jillette, Jeri Ryan, Sean Maher and for the love of all that is holy – Brian Boitano) he would have ponied (not a dead pony) up a picture if he had the mildest sense of humor. I mean, Ferris Fucking Beuller showed you a spoon, spatula and a brown egg for Odin’s sake!

Nathan Fillion further wrote:
“I don’t do those things because I don’t feel it’s right to ask. I don’t ask those things of my gardener, the guy at the car wash, or the kid who bags my groceries. Why ask it of someone because they are an actor? Is that being fair?”

There are definitely some questions that aren’t right to ask. Like asking a random Asian person where in China they’re from (when they’re actually Korean). Like asking a black man in a business suit if he’s got any weed on him to sell. Like asking a homeless person if he can break a $100. Those questions are wrong on all levels.

Then there are questions and requests that are often harmless, require minimal thought and potentially provide humor. Don’t wanna do it? Fine. But his response just oozes pretentiousness, lightly frosted with a plea for privacy.

I harken back to your lexicon:
Throwing a Simon Pegg: Being an excellent sport even when completely baffled, because there’s simply no reason not to do something random and silly to bring joy into the lives of others.

I almost cried a bit while reading this… I can’t believe he’s not willing to play along. I love Nater-Tater and all of his work but geez!! Have a bit of fun. It can’t all be serious acting. Yes, it’s his job to act and tell stories but still, any job that I’ve ever had, I still had a bit of silliness along the way. I’m truly disappointed by this post. I have twine in my car so, if on the off-chance I ever run into him, I’ll have a good photo op available to me… May even slip a piece of it on his shoulder or something… WIN! HAHAHA!!! And I love the one comment where they called him Nathan “No Twine” Fillion! LOL!!

I am so with Kara (#90) when it gets written into the script, on the show where he, as an actor, plays an author, that pretends to be a detective, has to hold twine, because an author, with a NYT bestselling book, secretly has a unicorn club controlling the universe, I too will CACKLE.

til then bottoms up to Wil Wheaton and Matt and everyone else with my best of box wine!

I agree with DarthRachel: the whole thing was funny because it was a lost cause. I have some sympathy for NF, though, because once your army was mobilized, I bet they sometimes harrassed him in a way you never would have.

I agree with others that it seems perhaps Mr. Fillion has missed the point, and it’s a bummer because something so fun/lighthearted could have been even more awesome by a different response on his part. Nothing against him, I guess I just don’t like the tone of this post. I agree wholeheartedly with Jessica G’s comment🙂

I think that the story is great, just the way it turned out. NF demonstrated that he has class, even in his turning you down, and you showed (yet again) that you have class. If more people in the world can respond the way you two did, this might just become a fun place to live again!

I’m going to side with the people on Nathan Fillion’s side on this one. I agree he could have, maybe should have, sent Jenny a note a while back letting her know he wasn’t interested in the joke, but I was another one who was feeling like it had gone way too far. I was feeling pretty uncomfortable just seeing it constantly going on and I was just watching. I think it’s been obvious for a while that he wasn’t laughing and also wasn’t going to do it. Personally, I wouldn’t want people constantly bugging me to do goofy things either. I think he’s actually being fair saying he won’t do this stuff for anybody instead of making an exception for people here and there and having some people hurt or angry because they didn’t rate.
People, he’s human and obviously likes his privacy. As somebody who gets anxiety attacks I can definitely understand his wanting that. Besides which, I’d bet most of the people saying he should have done the picture get a little creeped out by somebody they don’t know walking up and asking them for change. How would you feel if people were constantly coming at you from nowhere begging for your picture or who knows what? Especially people coming off a little bit stalker-ish.

I think that if Nathan Fillion had taken a moment to google you — which it seems he might have done after the gazillions of twine comments he’s apparently gotten in the past couple years — he probably would have realized that you are someone with a large following and that playing along with this tiny, silly request would cement his place in the hearts of many, many fans. Instead, we’re all a little disappointed.

At the same time, Nathan Fillion is probably a busy guy, and we don’t really have the right to expect him to research every person who sends him a ridiculous request, picking out which ones are well-known humor bloggers and which ones are just crackpots (or which ones are both!). Hey, at least you finally got a response.

Nathan’s response is perfectly reasonable however dull it might be, and it makes me love Wil Wheaton all the more for his willingness to goof. If given the opportunity to have a beer with one of these two, I’d take Wil every time over Mr. Serious Actor. Who do we solicit next for silliness?

Ugh. Nathan Fillion has ruined Nathan Fillion for me. Who knew he was such a pompous bore? He takes himself way too seriously. It’s going to take the sheen off Castle for me. Maybe that’s silly but that’s how I feel. Castle would totally have held twine for his fans.

I do agree he has the right to say no – I just don’t respect his reasoning. If you offered $$ for a charity, I fail to see why that would be seen as an outrageous ask…after all, there is a video on YouTube of said NF getting into the spirit of things for a lady who paid $$ to have a kiss from said NF. Why he couldn’t get into the ‘string’ of things for this…seems a bit hypocritial of him.

Wow! Just realized Nathan “no twine” Fillion, could also be Nathan “not wine” Fillion, if you weren’t paying attention. But then, that goes without saying because wine DEFINITELY has a better sense of humor than he does.

And Dana post #145, nodded my head all through your entire post!

I think we should have a good humor wine party (could be wine and ice cream) and talk about celebrities who have a better sense of humor and a lesser sense of self importance than NF, which, of course, would be ALL of them.

That’s too bad. I kind of see his point, but honestly the celebrities who have always impressed me are the ones who do take the time to respond to their fans. I remember waiting in line after a Joshua Bell concert and was amazed that a world renowned violinist would sign every CD and talk to every person no matter how long it took. It made me adore him as a person and not just for his craft. I think especially since you offered to give money to his charity (which would in turn draw attention to that cause) he should have used it as an opportunity to have some fun and do some good. (I’ll still enjoy watching Firefly reruns, but I will admit to being disappointed that he’s not the kind of guy that could find the fun in playing along.)

Yeah, I think Nathan Fillion is a bit of a whiner. “If I hold twine for ONE person, then EVERYONE is going to want me to hold twine!!!!” Really? Do you really think that? And, as an adult, you certainly have a right to pick and choose which request you fulfill. Fulfilling one certainly doesn’t obligate you to another.

And… if I had a gardener, I would ask him to hold all kinds of things for me. Because F*CK YEA, I HAVE A GARDENER!!!!!

Good god, people. He doesn’t want to do it, he was polite enough to respond. He doesn’t OWE it to people to do either, and the whole, “I didn’t even know who he was until now” responses – just as douchey. It would have been nice if he did, but he didn’t want to, so let it go.

As an individual, of course he has the option of saying no, but I still think he’s a spoil sport. I hate celebrities that are too full of themselves and this makes me feel less of him. Dang, Nathan Fillion and his lame excuse. Someday I hope to meet him, ask to take a picture with him AND happen to have twine in my purse I can pull out and take a surprise picture of Nathan Fillion with twine. Of course I don’t carry twine with me regularly so even if this random encounter happens I probably won’t have the twine, but I can dream.

#56 Shawn – exactly!
While I understand the idea of Mr Fillion’s principle, and I agree with it, I just don’t agree that iwas/is his driving principle. I have noticed (mostly on twitter & YouTube) that he has been known to act in the exact opposite manner. I feel he picks and chooses (and rightfully so) to respond to only that which amuses him. Just don’t ask me to believe he’s not doing a twine pic because he doesn’t respond to requests. Bottom line, the original requesit didn’t amuse him – so he deleted it and moved on. Chances are he most likely had no inkling of the size of the “iceburg” he chose to ignore. When he did it was way too late to change course. So he stuck to his original script and looks way more foolish doing that than he would holding twine.

Too bad, over the years I have found I have a great love for people who don’t take themselves too seriously. I found it endearing, humanizing and relatable when I saw celebs being silly. It is like Hollywood has been peeled away a little and you get a glimpse of the real person inside.

Lookit. I love Nathan Fillion and everything, but are we REALLY supposed to believe that he is SO INUNDATED with requests to do wacky stuff that it’s becoming a burden and he’s had to draw the line for his own sanity?

Seems kind of self-important and lacking a sense of humor to me. And honestly, it’s not like you’re just some random girl on the internet. You’ve got a fair amount of fame yourself, lady, so I think you asking him to post a twine picture is a bit different than me asking him to do it, you know? Whatever. He’s a big, important actor with big, important stories to tell, so we’ll bother him no longer. (But lest he get too self-important, I knew who the Bloggess was long before I’d ever heard of Nathan Filion.)

Indeed, I can understand Mr. Fillion’s grave conundrum: How many people would have been inconsolable, nay crestfallen! if he didn’t respond to their request? The human suffering caused by honoring this request over another would have been immeasurable and long-lasting. How many Twitter followers would have grown despondent and ceased to Tweet? Thousands? Tens of thousands? It is unfair for us to put such a burden on one man’s hunky shoulders.

And, friends, I must admit this hits a little close to home for me.

I, for one, would have been enraged had he chosen your request for a picture with twine over my own request for him to go buy a cup of coffee and then tweet “That coffee was delicious.” He has, thus far, refused to do so (He is a thespian, not a trained monkey) despite my feverish tweeting. But now I have insight into the harsh realities and complex moral quandaries of life as a famous actor. Kudos to you Mr. Fillion for your brave intellectual stance. It is a rare breed that is able to navigate the treacherous waters of novelty picture-taking with such aplomb.

I think what Nathan Fillion fails to recognize is that in order for him to be successful in his chosen career, addressing the public and gaining fans come part and parcel with such a field. Just like crappy pay, the risk of becoming irrelevant, and living off of Tang and Ramen (not that there’s anything wrong with Tang and Ramen) come along with my chosen field, journalism. If he didn’t want to be a television actor for a living, I’d agree with him. But it’s a side effect; along with getting paid a ton of money. Suck it up and hold the twine, Nathan.

This whole thing makes me sad. I love Nathan Fillion, but I am so disappointed by his response. I don’t have a gardener or a chauffeur (because I am not a rich famous actor) but if I did, I can guarantee that I would ask them to do silly things from time to time, because that is how I roll. And I am pretty sure they would do it, not just because I paid them. (As an aside, pretty sure you get your money from your fans too, Nathan Fillion.) Anyway, I expect that the people who would work for me would be silly because it would make me happy, and usually, people like to make other people happy. Nathan Fillion made me sad. I still love him, but I am disappointed in him. 😦

I’m sad. I’ve always thought of NF as a really down-to-earth, funny, irreverent guy with a big sense of humor. I guess he must be REALLY good at his acting job because that’s how he comes across. Finding out he doesn’t get the joke is disappointing. I bet he wasn’t so humorless after Firefly, before he did anything mainstream that got him some name recognition. Bet he would have been happy to send a twine pic to a hugely popular and funny blogger who happens to be on the NYT best seller list.

I realize that NF is a busy guy who probably gets tons and tons of requests, but how often does he get a request of this magnitude, involving thousands and thousands of fans, both people who’ve watched him for years and people who only know who he is because of the twine joke???

Didn’t Simon Pegg take the picture because it was trending and he had no idea why or where the request was even coming from? THAT is a man with a sense of humor and a kick ass personality. And every movie he’s ever made is ten times better than anything NF has ever done. I think. I’ve never seen him in anything, so I’m just guessing. Anyway, NF is not Robert fucking DeNiro so maybe he should relax a bit. It must be so exhausting taking yourself so goddamned seriously all of the time.

Now, NPH would probably wrap his whole body in twine if you asked nicely….

It would have taken Nathan a lot less time to just take the darn picture than to write that lame-ass reply. I used to like him, but now he has revealed himself to be an uptight, too-cool-for-school douche. Blerg.😦

Oh Nater Tater, if you are reading all the comments (because I would bet that you secretly ARE), sorry you didn’t play along. We pinky-swear to all leave you alone now, but you gotta admit it was all quite funny…Well, at least WE laughed our asses off for post after post of really good material. Chill buddy – the best shit in life is the laughter.

I completely understand why Fillion responded the way that he did. While he may not be famous in a Brad Pitt kind of way, he has a lot of fans that put the “fanatic” in fan. I’m certain that he gets bombarded with requests constantly and he doesn’t want to set a precedent of giving in to intense badgering. Yeah, he could “just hold the twine” and then what of the bazillion other requests for his time and attention? Rewarding the internet equivalent of screaming in his ear with a megaphone just means that everyone who wants something is going to bring a megaphone and start screaming and expect results.

Some of the responses here sound like the fucked-up justifications given by the paparazzi. Just because someone chooses to be an actor doesn’t mean they have to open a door into their life for the public to parade through at will. The people here saying shitty stuff about Nathan Fillion are just obnoxious. I love you Jenny, but I’m not so much loving a lot of your readership today.

Count me among the “never heard of NF before the twine request” crowd. I did, however, know of Wil Wheaton and Matthew Broderick (and others) before their item-holding pictures. Coincidence? Unlikely. Perhaps “really and truly famous” = “more willing to hold stuff in photos”, and in years to come, “holding photos” will become the most accurate gauge of how famous a person is.

Or not. I’d take a photo holding just about anything, but it would be useless since I can’t figure out how to upload the photos from my phone.

Personally, the holy grail of twine holding pictures for me is Neil Patrick Harris. I thought you were aiming too low with Nathan Fillion. Now that you are Ms Big Muckitty Muck of the Blogosphere, aim higher and work on Dr Horrible.

I do not know if it was what you were feeling, but I felt some very serious disappointment in your response! SO, this is going to happen. It will not happen soon, but it will happen as of October 2013.
I am dressing my husband up as Cap’n Mal for our wedding. There will be pictures of him holding twine. I know it isen’t the same, but I hope it eases your disappointment at least a little bit!!
I love you very much, you got me through a lot of hard times during my last two hospitalizations and it is the least I can do (I was going to buy you a dead animal but goddamnit they are EXPENSIVES)

Don’t get me wrong I adore Nathan. I think his talent, though widely appreciated, is still somewhat underestimated. A situation I see correcting itself in the coming years. However, as his star continues to rise I urge him to remember that it is we (the thousands of twitter accounts and nameless fans) that help to keep that star hurtling through the entertainment galaxy. Nathan’s humility and sense of humor are a large part of what attracted many of us to him. As his career and options expand, I hope that he tries very hard to retain his humility and sense of humor… and to stay shiny.

Sure, he’s entitled to his opinion and feelings. But I’m in agreement with just about everyone else on here in saying, it’s just a stupid silly picture holding a piece of twine. Get over yourself Nathan Fillion! I mean, thanks for responding in what was a decidedly condescending response, but seriously. At least this draws this to a close? Yea.

I’m kind of disappointed the light-hearted joker he plays on Castle doesn’t seem to come from him at all. I will still enjoy watch Castle, re-watching him in Firefly and Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, but he’s off my list of famous folks I’d like to meet.

Lame. It is not like you just requested it for your own amusement, you offered compensation to him, or a charity on his behalf. Is he too good to help others by doing something so simple? I think he should at least donate $750 of his own money to a charity in your name to show that the decline was about the picture, and not because he is above helping others. If he can do a stupid PSA skit on Swamp Ass, he could post a pic of himself holding twine (maybe he’s confused as to what twine is and is too embarrassed to admit it). Why so serious? I would totally post a pic of me with twine to raise money for charity, but I don’t get those kind of offers being a non-celebrity. I definitely won’t be in any kind of hurry to see any of his work, unless someone writes it into a script for him to hold a ball of twine.

This only makes me love Wil Wheaton more for having such a great sense of humor as well as Matthew Broderick and all the others! I will definitely support any of their upcoming films, like any loyal fan would!😉

Clearly, some just cannot handle your awesomeness! Thanks for being so caring, funny and real!

Grocery baggers get asked to do some weird shit, so I don’t think he should generalize with his whole “you wouldn’t ask {x job} to do that” because someone out there will. And if it isn’t an offensive request, most people will do it in good humor. (Who has seen a scavenger hunt in a mall or park or something lately? Yeah, us nobodies are asked to do silly things for pictures too.)

Anyway, his whole “I’m a story teller” argument…he was asked to be part of a silly story involving twine. It’s a story, he’s a public figure, how is this not his wheelhouse? If he didn’t want to, he could have nicely declined, saying he can’t honor all of these requests, in the beginning. He’s just a douche.

Do you suppose he really is such a snobbish wet blanket in real life? How dissapointing. But…it goes to show that just because an actor plays a charming character with a sense of humor…doesn’t mean he is anything like that in real life…it’s just a job to him apparently.

But without the wet blankets in this world…we might not fully appreciate the awesomeness of those that chose to play along. And for that NF…I thank you.

I see this as a loss for Fillion, though I feel that I’ve lost him, too. I used to be a huge fan … and I didn’t so much get mad at him as just feel this huge disappointment that he had no sense of humor.

Otherwise, the TWINE SAGA has been WIN-WIN-WIN (not sure what the count should be.) Because I gained Wil Wheaton. I giggle at him now through Twitter. And that great outpouring of support by all the OTHER actors — and the resulting photos? Priceless. And ultimately WAYWAYWAY better than one picture of Nathan Fillion with twine.

It’s been a fun ride. Totally his loss. We’ve had all the fun. As we always do. After all, everywhere we go — #THISISSPARTA !!!!

Has Nathan Fillion been done in wax at a museum yet?? If so, Just put some twine in the wax Nathan’s hand and take a pic. You never stated it had to be the REAL Nathan, right? Plus, you could squeeze his tush without having to go to jail.

I’m totally not famous, or even particularly interesting, but I will hold anything you like and have my husband snap a pic of me with Whatever, to make up for this disappointment. Also, I second (third?) Neil Patrick Harris.😀 (Lemme know about the holding-whatever-to-make-up-for-it! I *could* be famous someday, and then you’ll be in on the ground floor of having another famous-person-holding-stuff photo to add to your collection.)

You know, I really want to be OK with his reaction. It just has this tinge of elitism that I can’t shake. A simple google would have told him you have ongoing interactions with a number of reasonably well known people and a fair following, so treating this as “if I do for one fan, I have to do for all” seems really disingenuous. If I had asked, sure. But you’re a well known author who actually, you know, sells what she writes.

I don’t really want to think of the Captain as either being too big for his britches or having really poor research skills, though, so… OK.

Well there you go, I un-followed NF (on twitter) a long time a go, (I am sure he noticed and wept) but I kept thinking, if he just hold the twine, he would instantly had gotten more than a quarter of a million followers and adoration galore! I mean, he was all “can we get to a million (followers)” and shit (on twitter). He asked for people to tell other people to follow him (ugh) anyway.
Hope next week is better for you Jenny, Glad Haley is doing better and don’t feel bad and stuff, it’s just NF….

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me to hold Twine for a Twitter picture, I would have a dollar. Ironically, that is the same amount Nathan Fillion would have.
Whatevs. You clearly have many celebs who think you are the bee’s knees!😉

Lesson learned: Some celebrities take their “storytelling” way too seriously. This is a guy who had to beg his way into a special cameo on The Guild (his own admission), and heads to panels at Comic-Con.
The shine is off Castle for me. Oh well.

Dan #146 said it pretty well for me. Fans get that celebs don’t have time to do everything requested of them and the ones that don’t need to understand. While I totally understand his reasoning, he sounded so condescending. Sorry but he’s being a bit of a dick here. Many celebs do silly things like this on occasion because 1) it takes like 2 minutes of their time and 2) that short amount of time buys good will with fans. He’s in a profession that counts on fan’s good will. He should have said something PR friendly right at the start and been done with it. Let him go with his fellow celeb friends and feel all better than you. We know differently🙂

He certainly doesn’t have to do it. He doesn’t even have to respond at all. But to suggest that it’s offensive to ask? That’s a bit rich. His life, and his career, are not normal. Not by a long shot. And you can’t really separate the “I get paid a huge amount of money and attention because I’m a famous actor” from the “I get asked weird shit by random people all the time because I’m a famous actor” because they’re kind of the same thing.

There’s a big difference between making an appeal for civility and to be left alone and suggesting that it’s offensive for fans to act like fans.

Nathan Fillion’s response is respectful and articulate. He has a point regardless of whether any of us agree or not. Each of us have things we simply don’t want to do, as well as myriad personal reasons why we don’t want to do them. I can respect that. I’m glad he responded, because before this, I thought he was just being a dick.

Your response to him is also respectful and articulate and that is why so many fans love you – it’s not JUST because you are funny as hell!!

I do like him as an actor, but found his response to the twine debacle extremely douchey. I mean, come on….really? It’s that much of a tragedy to take a photo with twine, especially for some charity dough? I used to really not be a fan of Wil Wheaton at all, but his antics with you have really changed my mind…..along with his harassment of Sheldon on BBT of course. Fillion needs to grow a sense of humor and take a lesson from Mr. Wheaton’s rule of thumb….”Don’t be a dick”.

Is that really your #1 question? I would’ve though it would be something…else. Of course I can’t think of what I would ask you instead. I guess I’d choke and be all “Wait, I can ask about Nathan Fillion!” Though I guess I think more about Beyonce. And taxidermy.

This is sad, but I get where he’s coming from. Anyway, funnily enough I just started listening to John Scalzi’s novel Redshirts on audiobook, and it’s read by Wil Wheaton. I have indeed been picturing him collating paper as he reads. (It’s awesome by the way – go get it!)

Wow. Okay, there are way too many people complaining about our beloved Nater Tater being “a pompous bore.” “It’s just a picture – what’s the big deal?”

In my day job, I’m a freelance graphic/web designer; on weeknights, I teach wine appreciation classes; on the weekends, I’m lead singer of a classic rock band. And there isn’t a month that goes by that I’m not turning down a good friend or family member who asks if I’ll design them a logo, draw them a picture, lecture to their book club, come talk at their party, perform at their company conference, or entertain at their backyard BBQ, and always for free and always because I love what I do so much. And I do love what I do, just as I love them, and in my heart I’d love to do these lovely people this one little favor. But if I do the one favor, what right do I have to turn down the other favor requests that come in? How do I explain to the passing acquaintance that I had the time and energy to do free work for our mutual friend, but not them? (“Because I like them better” is not going to be well-received.) And if I just go ahead and do every freebie I’m asked to do, how am I supposed to pay my bills? Worse, how is the wine shop I represent or my fellow bandmates suppose to pay their bills? I’m giving away all of their services when I give away mine. So month after month, I make the same explanation: “while I will do pro bono work for charities (when time and finances allow, on a case by case basis), I don’t do “favors” – it’s not fair to the others who depend on me to just give away my work. Sorry.”

While Mr. Fillion’s explanation wasn’t as footloose and fancy-free as some would have liked, it was still perfectly reasonable and remarkably professional – as he points out, he’s an actor: his face and voice are part of his stock and trade, and being asked to donate a photograph of himself doing something specific is the same as asking him to appear in a commercial free of charge. And don’t kid yourself – he got the joke (just look who he’s friends with – of course he got the joke); in this and all related instances, he’s just made the decision to treat the request like a professional: with a courteous but firm “No” – he doesn’t set a precedent he then has to walk back at a later date.

His was a reasonable answer, jenny’s was a classy response – lets everyone else follow their example and be just as reasonable and classy.

His response made me CRY (could be the mutant PMS). His tone was scolding and offensive. Someone said he’s human, but I don’t think he is. And, he missed the very point you were trying to make. You were not asking him to endorse a product or do something to further a money-making scheme. The twine is an anti-endorsement. The exact thing he claims that he is against – all the many requests for people to exploit themselves at his expense. His response might have been okay months ago but coming this late in the game, it was obnoxious. Okay, so he’s above twine. And, he likely doesn’t even write his own tweets – he has a guy for that too. He clearly doesn’t know how to use a computer or he would have read your blog and your fabulous book and seen that your motives are pure and that fun is your goal. Your response was so genuine and elegant and classy, even though I know you wanted to cry because I could feel that. Not because he doesn’t want to play along, but because he accused you of being a bully and hurting his feelings. Which was never your intention and was caused in large part by his complete lack of any response one way or another. All he had to do was say no thank you 800 years ago. Plus, he was with Wil Wheaton so we KNOW that he knows what the deal is and that you are not a crazy stalker bent on ruining his life.

I just figured it out. He is TERRIFIED of twine from some twine incident in childhood or a past life and he doesn’t want his fans (if he has any left) to know what a scaredy cat he is that the sight of twine puts him in a fetal position, sucking his thumb, and wetting his pants. Well, he can hold a spatula or a fireplace poker. Twine is his kryptonite. Who knew?

Unfortunately, I think the truth is that Nathan Fillion is an Ass Waffle.

On one hand I respect his desire to not be a puppet to the masses. On the other hand I think he was being an ass to not just do it for his charity int he first place. On my third mutant hand, I can understand, after the first no, to not cave in to people asking repeatedly because of a stubbornness thing. On my fourth robotic hand, a twine photo would have rounded this game off quite nicely and given it a satisfying conclusion.

In summary I respect his decision to be stubborn and slightly and ass, and like happy endings. In books, not the other kind.

Actually, if we can’t have a twine pic, will you take us all out for Happy Endings?

See, this backfires on him, because now he has to make a concerted effort to ensure that anytime anyone ever takes a picture of him for the rest of his life that there is no ball of twine in frame. How exhausting…

He’s not your monkey. Why do people not get this? He’s not a trained monkey to do your bidding because you want him to. He’s an incredibly decent guy and this stunt of yours was about YOU not him and now your idiotic stunt has put him in an untenable position. Way to go.

And for those people who are criticizing his pre-autographs at ComicCon, have you BEEN there? I have. Roughly 130,000 people attend. He has to have security there just to walk to his panels because otherwise he’d be mobbed.

And he is a household name, otherwise this whole wouldn’t have meant a damn thing. Nice smearing the reputation of one of the really nice guys in the business.

As others have said above, at first I didn’t have a clue who he was. When I looked him up, he was vaguely recognizable as someone who had been on several failed television shows. Now he just seems like a pretentious prick who wants all to understand that he’s too much of an artist to joke with us. Remember Drive Mr Fillion? That show you starred in that was so horrible it only last 3 episodes? Yeah that’s art!

I would also LOVE to see Jim Parsons step in and hold some twine. Then we could all move on happy.

You’ve got to give yourself so much more credit, woman. After reading through that thread, I don’t think I could have come up with such a classy, respectful reply – I would have just crawled into bed! People can be so mean, and especially on the Internet, where they don’t have to see the reactions to their meanness and name calling. It’s easy to hide behind a keyboard and call someone a dbag, and I’d wager they’d be too chicken to try it to anyone’s face!

That being said, I’m sure you’ve got a slight sting of hurt feelings, but know that you’ve got oodles of respect and admiration from your fans! (Fans that would know better than to name call)!

My first feeling was disappointment in one of my favorite actors. While I respect his right to say no, he sounded whiny about it. You on the other hand were classy in every way. I guess it just goes to show that what an actor plays can be nothing like the person.

Having grown up in Edmonton we were always aware of the community minded and supportive Fillion clan. Nathan’s brother was a teacher and Nathan would go into his class to draw pictures for the kids ( a friend of mine still has one and he’s 20 now!) I worked with him at a karaoke company when he was just starting out getting really into the acting biz. I will always remember him singing Beyond the Sea and sliding down a banister in his performance at a Boston pizza. He was an extremely hard worker and always as generous as he could be, so I know that if he felt it was something he could do- he would. He’s paid more dues than anyone realizes so I applaud him for speaking his mind. I will always be a supporter of Nathan and his work as an actor. At least he replied to you! That’s more than a lot of actors do these days!!

I have to say I think his answer was ridiculous. You are Nathan Fucking Fillion, not Brad Pitt (who totally would have posed, because he is fucking funny). I didn’t even know who he was, other than that actor on that show I will never watch. I’m going to chalk this up with the fact that some people just have zero sense of humor. Kind of like my mother in law, who thought my husband and I were crazy for watching ‘Dinner with Schmucks”. She said, “is Hollywood dumbing down movies because of America’s stupidity?”. By the way, her favorite show? Castle.
I’m in no way disappointed that he isn’t going to do this. Because of twine we had Matthew Broadrick and Brian Boitano one upping each other in pictures. That is the gift that goes on and on. Thank you Jenny.

I’m glad that he finally acknowledged the Twine Saga like a grown-up instead of huffing and puffing like I can imagine some celebrities doing, but I am definitely a bit disappointed that he couldn’t just be a good sport and play along. Does one have to take themselves that seriously all the time? Where is the fun in that? Especially considering that just by being a good sport for five minutes, he’d raise $750 for charity. I don’t make that much in a week!😛

A few other fun things to note-
A) I had also never heard of him before this, so I’m with Christine G. on this one too.
B) I wholeheartedly support Jim Parsons as the next celebrity/inanimate object endeavor. He seems like such an awesome human being that I can’t imagine him declining.
C) Or Neil Patrick Harris. He’s a good choice too.
D) I kinda think we should create a flickr pool and all submit pictures of us holding twine for Jenny. I mean….no Nathan Fillion, but come on- we could totally get like, thousands of pictures. That’s a lot of twine in one place.
E) I think if somehow a ball of twine could magically photobomb a pic of Nathan Fillion, that ball of twine would win the internet.
F) This comment is so ridiculously long and I am sorry but I needed to share all of these things.

It took him longer to type the message than it would have taken to take a picture with some twine. *smh* You have the best sense of humor and I’m so glad you have this blog and you wrote your book!! Want to help me name a metal goat that my husband is adadamantly opposed to me buying?

Um never heard of the guy until you started begging him for twine. Now I’m glad I didn’t. He seems like a pompous @ss. Which is precisely where he can shove the twine. Some people just suck. Love your blog. Love your humor.

I don’t have a gardener. Or a car washer. Or dish washer. Or even a dog walker. I do all those things myself. But I do have an awesome “proud to be gay” hair stylist. Next time I get a haircut I am totally going to ask my beloved Reggie to let me take his picture holding twine and send it to you. But I think it will have to be an over-the-shoulder type pose. Because he’s got really gorgeous, long hair. And it deserves to be seen.

And by the way, I’m with Marisa on getting Betty White to hold something. But SERIOUSLY, let’s make it a vibrator, okay? I bet she’d do it. Maybe she could even have twine in one hand and the vibrator in the other. I can just see her sly grin now….

I love Nathan, will always love nathan. Have loved him since 2 guys and a girl. He seems like a kind and generous individual with a good sense of humor. I think his repsonse was polite and honest. I also think Jen’s repsonse was fantastic as well. Entertaining as always, both of you.

Sorry, I think he’s a twat, and poor sport. Honestly, if he gave more face, and showed some kindness to his fans, then more people might know who he is. ie; Matthew Broderick, Simon Pegg, Rick Gervais, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, etc.
We’ve wasted too much time on him anyways…on to the next ;o)

Sorry, but he sounds like an ass. An ass that I can’t recall ever seeing in anything I’ve watched. Now I suppose I’ll go IMDB or Wikipedia him and waste two minutes of my life.

Don’t get me wrong – he has every right to not want to hold twine, but really: is he so famous that he’s that bombarded? The PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, who is arguably busier and a lot more famous, took time to make a joking video for Betty White, but Nathan Fillion (WHAT has he been in?! Driving me crazy) takes exception to participating in a joke that doesn’t require more than two minutes or his presence and is hardly going to inspire other bloggers to ask him to hold, I dunno, yarn, because WE’D NEVER HEARD OF HIM until you brought him up. But whatever. Sorry for the run on sentence; this is why you have a best selling book and I have rejected Word documents that tell rejected stories.😀

Deanna, I can’t help name your goat but I do know that if I had one I’d have to proudly display him (her?) in my pepper patch. Just so I would have the occasional opportunity to point at it and say that something is “hotter than a goat’s butt in a pepper patch.”

Well, that’s that. I was on the fence about Mr. Fillion, but his pompous response pushed me over into the “I don’t like him cause he’s a douche and had to throw it in there that he has a gardener and someone to wash his car territory”. I hate it when that happens.

You should go after Joss Whedon… if they ever make Dr Horrible 2, have the director have him hold twine as part of a scene… BINGO! You get the twine and form a long lasting friendship with the creator of Buffy

I’m sorry, but he needs to remove the stick from his rear end. Silly fun is just that. Fun. If I was this serious all the time, I’d never have any friends. We recently asked the handyman at a friends house to go in on a prank with us to “flock” the yard of our friend. Basically putting 24 pink flamingos in the yard while she wasn’t home. Not only did he comply, but he kept his lip zipped and never told her that we were the culprits. This is all in good fun. Too bad Nathan has lost sight of that.

While I do agree some people might be taking this a bit too much to heart, I think you’re missing the point a lot of people are making. It’s not about that he didn’t do it. It’s not even about the past dismissiveness on his part pertaining to the whole twine thing – that was actually entertainingly funny. It was his reddit response.

Nathan may very well be a stand-up all-around good guy to those he knows. He may attend the meet & greets and do all the right things on a schedule for the public presentation. But he obviously views himself as an entity that cannot participate in a random act of humor because, “My job is not to respond to every demand placed upon me from an audience on the Internet” and “how many people would be unhappy that it wasn’t their request I responded to?” had he chosen to respond to the twine incident.

So Nathan chooses to not interact with his fan base outside of scheduled events. That’s his prerogative. It doesn’t make him any less douchey for how he responded though.

I hope that we all appreciate we don’t know what or how many different requests Nathan Fillion gets.

I hope that either he, or an assistant, will answer sooner and graciously decline if he doesn’t want to do something.

I hope he gets someone to help him with how he publicly responds to these types of questions. I understand the need for setting limits on what he will or won’t do (we all have our limits – famous or not), but I also see how off-putting his response is to so many of us.

I hope, in parallel universes, that all the Jennys got their pictures.

But, mostly I hope that your baby is feeling better, you week will end much better and that you are feeling the love from your fans.

I completely understand his point of view and wish that he were a better sport. I know, for you, that it was all in good fun.

With that being said, we should get in touch with the folks at Entertainment Weekly. Next time he does a photo shoot for them, they should have him hold a ball of twine. Then he can’t complain about it because he’s being paid to do it. I know the folks over at EW like you, so we might have a chance with that.

I know, I know, I’m a Libra and have two opinions on everything. However, the guy does have a point and now he loses in every way. I thought the whole thing was hysterical and wanted to see the photo too even though I had no idea who Nathan Fillion was…BUT, while I would have liked him to have a sense of humor and basically, man-up, call off his gardeners etc. to pose, HE CAN’T WIN. Because the blog has made him the “person that didn’t want to have fun with our Jenny.” Hard to believe, I know, that anyone would refuse The Bloggess but he did. Maybe you want a photo of me with twine? or my dog Lexi with it? We would say yes. And we don’t have gardeners either. Love, your friend, Laurie F.

His response just shows how much classier a human being Wil Wheaton is. It wouldn’t have killed Nathan to send you the damn photo, for crying out loud. I’m sorry, I know lots of people here are fans, but to me, he comes off like a douchebag with his response.

Meh. It would have awesome if he had done it, like almost on the level of Wil Wheaton collating papers, but not quite because who could be as awesome as Wil…

But I respect that he came out and explained it just was not something he felt comfortable doing. Whatever, we all have our things and maybe fulfilling a silly request that comes out of the blue from hundreds of strangers on the internet felt not-quite-right to Nathan. He may be famous, but he is still just a guy.

I had no idea who Nathan Fillion was before this. Now all I know is that he turned down a chance to raise money for his charity. If I was that charity I would be finding a new “celebrity” to support my cause. Just sayin’.

You know – I was a big Nathan Fillion fan, although Castle has kind of brought that down a notch already. I mean – yay, for getting a gig with more exposure, but – boo, it kind of sucks.

I even get that he doesn’t want to do this and that’s cool, too. I can even see that he didn’t see the humor in being asked about it all the time. However, he does try to project the persona as being fun-loving and there for the fans. But I guess he only does that when he’s being told to at Comic-Con as part of his job; fine – that’s also his right, but he doesn’t have to be so condescending about it. Really – if he had sent half of that response, it would have been way cooler and less pretentious.

And, for the people who obviously only showed up here to harass Jenny and aren’t regular readers – the people who were just playing along with the whole twine thing were doing it in fun, not realizing that NF was annoyed by it and were assuming that he appreciated the absurdity that the whole thing had become (and, no, I wasn’t one of them, because I was enjoying all the other famous people who joined in way too much). Also, Jenny had already told everyone that she wasn’t upset at NF and that she actually was glad that he hadn’t held the damn twine because so many cool things happened just because he didn’t do it – so you can all stop being such jerks about it and grow a sense of humor.

It seems like some twisted Doctor Who plot, in order to save the universe they need a picture of Matthew Broderick holding a spoon. So, you ask Nathan Fillion for a picture holding twine… How wonderfully non-linear!

BTW, if you google “nathan fillion matthew broderick” the top links you get are all the Bloggess. Ain’t the interwebs great…

ya know y’all… all this really makes me wanna do is go to where he’s doing a signing (or something of that nature) and totally nonchalantly lob a ball of twine at him to have him catch it… only for my ninja like reflexes to catch it all mid air with my wonder papperatizi camera! Alas… my sucky camera phone can’t even get my dog or kids without blurring..😛 well that and I’m stuck in the boring Midwest… but one of you wonderful Bloggess followers are so right on to try this… HINT HINT HINT!

He’s being a cheeseball about this, but that is totally his prerogative….He obviously doesn’t get that twine, yeah, okay, goofy request, would be a major investment in his fandom. DUH. Wil Wheaton? My gollies, I’d pay good cash money to see that man, not just because I’ve heard other great things about him, but because he’s a lovely person who laughs with his fans, and doesn’t see twine or paper collation (::swoon::) as something equivalent with a demand from his grocery bagger to suddenly twirl a water pistol and be all Captain Tightpants. I thought your running gag was hilarious, Jenny. I loved the Brian Boitano and Matthew Broderick interjections, and the madness of spatulas, ice cream sandwiches, and tongs. I’m sad that NF doesn’t get the joke, but that’s his loss, and if I suddenly ran into him in the grocery store (not the mostly likely event, but you never know), for your sake, Jenny, I’d be frosty but polite. I should start carrying twine around in case this really happens….I would look at him coldly, glance meaningfully at my twine, and then stalk off in the direction of the ketchup. Take THAT, Nathan Fillion.

Meh. I figured that the longer he went without responding, it was because he didn’t want to dignify the request with a response. Too bad, it would have been fun. I do feel bad that he has gotten asked about it so often he is this exasperated by it. That probably get really annoying.

I’m glad we have so many celebs that HAVE played along, though. They get massive cool points in my book.

He’s a fucking idiot. “I’m a very important actor, you see. I have no time to devote to my fans, you see. I wouldn’t want people to ask anything of me, you see. I am just too important and busy.” Good response, Jenny!

While he could have toned down the whole “y’all don’t know how hard it is to be a celebrity” thing a bit, I can kind of see where he’s coming from. He’s most famous for starring in a sci-fi program, so think about how many bizarre requests he must get, both by mail and in person. And think about how aggressive some of his fans pursue those requests, and how angry they get when he has to decline them. I know quite a few sci-fi/”Firefly” fans, and some of them are, pardon my French, fucking crazy. There are a lot of people who believe once you’re famous you’re obliged to cater to your fans at all times. Look at how nasty fans get on Twitter. I would imagine that, even for the nicest, most generous celebrities, that gets old and wearying sometimes.

I will agree that he could have saved himself some trouble and just either taken the picture or declined it months ago. Now it just seems like he’s refusing out of misplaced spite.

Asking all of his co-workers on Castle for picture’s of THEM holding twine…tee hee! This can go one of two ways…

1. either they give you picture’s and word gets out that they did send you p[ic’s of them being silly and he looks like a turd
OR
2. they don’t and it gets out that your now cyber stalking them all… all because of him! and he looks like a turd…

I think it’s more fun if there were never a response, because it sustains the humor. I’m sorry to see it go, and I’m sorry that Nathan Fillion and others of fame have to deal with it, because honestly, couldn’t we have continued the joke without bugging him when it’s patently obviously that he chooses not to participate. Just as I have my own reasons for enjoying the joke, he has his own reasons for not. Fine with me.

I kind of lost some respect for him. Being silly is half the fun of getting to be famous. You don’t have to do every demand, but when a big one comes through that unites tonnes of people in a quest of happiness, shut up & hold twine.

I think you were both very classy about it, but point to Jenny. Fillion just came across as whining.

PS. As a participant of GISHWHES, I have asked ordinary people do to a lot of stupid things for my camera (IE. “Can I cover you in cotton candy & take a photo?” “Can I squirt this cheez whiz into you mouth from 40 feet up & take a photo?”) No gardener or barista is safe.

Having discovered beyonce the chicken the week before you came to Atlanta….and we literally heard … Hey it’s beyonce the chicken when we were buying it for my friends mother’s day present ( we chose medium beyonce)…. I wasn’t up on the twine joke when some one asked about it at your book tour. Your explantation was fantastic and it made me love the photo i had seen of will collating even more. I mean I get he wants to be fair he is an actor…..but I still think the ball of twine…..rock star.
Got to respect his answer though.

And when NF gets paid what his gardener and car washer are paid, I’ll begin to feel sorry for all the demands on his time that we, his fans, place on him. I really wanted to think he was a cool guy. Damn.

Ok, ok. Everyone’s saying he’s classy. I suppose that’s somewhat true. But you are SO much classier! And how the heck do you manage to be hilarious while being classy and kind? You rock and you are a world famous blogger that we all adore. I haven’t read your book yet, but this weekend I am going to physically go buy it from a bookstore cause I want to keep it for myself. I almost checked it out at the library–you’re in a library! But then I thought better of it. It’ll be a keeper fo sho.

He might have a point in a certain respect, but the way he wrote the answer complete with the “sigh” is what came off as pompous.

He’s got a right to treat his fame as how he sees fit, just as I have a right to judge said fame because as a member of the viewing public, that’s how it works. And I’ve decided he’s either a bit of a douche or , giving benefit of the doubt, having a douchey day. At the very least, he may have put ‘his people’ onto some research and perhaps found a few more fans by either doing the picture, doing an even sillier one (thus showing his fun side but still not fulfilling a request) or replying in a way that doesn’t make me, as unknown as a gardener, feel like he thinks himself above me. Its not as if one of us lowly unknown plebs asked him something ridonkulous. He might’ve become less unknown to so many. Though, I guess he seems to feel that he has enough fans and fame. And regardless, now he’s got attention, doesn’t he? Because how’s the saying go about any publicity being good publicity? I personally didn’t and don’t care if he ever did the twine pic. Never gave it a second thought, but the response was poor enough to make me doubt the guy and what I thought of him.
And as for these extra pictures that he “signs” at the cons. Are people so damn sure that that’s his actual-omg-he touched the pen to my picture autograph and not something done by minion or stamp? See? I’m a skeptic of him now.

What I do thank him for is for unintentionally creating some interesting discussions on the responsibilities of fame. It’s been thought provoking. I’ve decided that my ideas are different than his, but such is the power of choice. The Cult of Celebrity is a strange beast. And while I’m not agog at celebrity, I certainly have a different sort of respect for those who have it and use it wisely, graciously and with class toward all of us 99%ers.

You know, if NF doesn’t feel comfortable with the twine, it doesn’t make me think any less of him. I don’t like when people try to tell me what I should be doing, either. But, I love all the more Wheaton, Matthew Broderick, Jeri Ryan, et. al. for their silly pictures.

The attitude I’ve seen at times (never by you, Jenny) that anyone owes anybody anything besides basic human decency, even something as trivial as twine holding, is ridiculous to me.

Maybe he could have done it right away — but once it rapidly turned into repeated pleas and an army of harassment, there was no way. It’s been a lost cause since the first time Jenny upped the ante on the request, because while it was funny at first it wasn’t funny once people went stalkerish, and nobody with fans can afford to let anyone think that stalking and harassment pays off. The other celebrity-with-weird-stuff pics were spur of the moment, not stalker responses.
Worth noting that the quoted response, complete with Sigh, wasn’t to Jenny but to yet another person bringing it up. I start swearing the third time I get the same soliciting phone call, so I think he’s been very polite.

To those who say “I wish he’d taken it with better humor” and whatnot, I think his attitude is fairly understandable.. I can imagine that most people, including Mr. Fillion, would initially respond like this: “Haha, that’s just silly. Oh dear, I’m late for an appointment.” And then rush off to his theoretical appointment and promptly forget about the entire twine dealy. Our dear Bloggess meant it in good humor from the start, I’m sure. No big deal on either side. But if fans of someone as popular as Nathan Fillion get too rabid about something, I’ll bet they can take things like the twine joke to ridiculous heights. Can you imagine what it would be like for him to come back to the internet world after his theoretical appointment and sees that he’s been bombarded with fans requesting he take the freaking picture already? Or meeting lots of fans in person who want him to take the picture? That might be… Well, weird and a bit annoying. I’d say nothing’s wrong on either Jenny or Nathan’s part, but I’ll bet Nathan got a little exasperated about rabid fans bugging him on twitter and elsewhere on the internet about the twine. While it was meant as a simple joke, some people can push jokes, even those originating from another person, waaay too far. So, yeah. The joke was fun while it lasted. Nathan has politely requested it come to an end, so let’s live and let live. No biggie. 🙂 (And wow, what a novel I wrote.)

Well played my dear🙂 I suppose we must all give the poor guy his desired “space” In related news, I am almost positive I can find several people who will pose for a picture with twine. Sadly, none of them are famous actors, but it could still be fun

So the boyfriend from 2 Guys a Girl & a Pizza Place is NOT holding twine? Well, shit. Maybe one of the “2 Guys” will. Please oh please Ryan Reynolds! Or maybe the girl. But, seriously, if you get Ryan Reynolds, please in the name of all that is holy & cherished in this world, make sure he is only partially clothed.

I think he handled that very graciously. I love that thebloggess has so many awesome celebrity fans (hey WW!), but it was starting to get out of hand. He shouldn’t be made the bad guy for choosing not to do something silly for the internet masses. He seems like a down-to-earth guy who just wants to live as normal a life as possible.

You know what I think? I think he’s out of touch, and I think he’s kind of douchey. I totally agree that he can play along or not play along, but if he’s willing to do the Reddit deal, and if he’s so super active on Twitter, he could have taken 20 seconds out of his busy super important actor life and said, “Not my thing, and I won’t do it. Sorry.” End of story. Next.

You are a very classy woman. We all knew that. And you were just having fun – and ANYONE with a sense of humor knew that as well. Unfortunately, he came off exasperated and whiney about how hard it is to have so much expected of him. Yeah, cry me a river, my friend. Honestly, he doesn’t deserve the publicity he got from you. You are awesome. And well, I will reserve what I think of him…

Seriously? People who MAKE MONEY from having an AUDIENCE ought to be a little more flexible with silly, harmless fan requests! NF should chill out, have a donut, shrug off some of that thespian haughtery!

Some of your readers are totally batsh$t crazy, did you know that?🙂
I am very glad this matter has been put to rest, N.F. may be a saint, he may be a sinner, but the unrelenting “twine twine twine twine twine” meme was getting very very old. Leave the guy alone, and hopefully, the next season of Castle will be better than this past season…

People, if I can quit smoking, you can give up the twine. Of course you enjoy it, sure you’re not addicted to it, at first you’ll feel horrifically uncomfortable, but don’t let that stop you. Let. Go. Of. The. Twine. Think of all the other things there are in life we could be doing! (Seriously, think! I used everything I got in this comment.)

I mean I get his point, but I think its kind of absurd also. You asked him to take a picture with twine. In fact hundreds of people (thousands??) have asked about him holding a piece of twine. It’d take 10 seconds for him to do and it’d be funny and worth it. But everyone is entitled to hold or not hold twine. Clearly he’s of the latter kind of people.

It really could have done without the ‘Sigh.’ at the beginning of his response, but at least he finally responded. He didn’t have to fulfill the request, a simple decline would have ended this a long, long time ago.

Morena Baccarin worked with Nathan Fillion: Morena was Inara on Firefly before V and Homeland. Apparently Nate used to come up to her, gush about her acting ability, yadda yadda, then finish off with ‘- if you like shit.’ Apparently she’s not the only one he’s done this to, leading to THE EVENT where another actress got the entire audience to simultaneously flip Nathan Fillion the birdie.

Nate was in Firefly and Dr Horrible, now he’s in Castle which riffs off Firefly as often as possible to keep the Browncoats engaged. If you’d asked for a photo of the Serenity with string, perhaps he would have obliged. Better still, ask for a photo of JOSS WHEDON with something silly. He’s absolutely awesome and he might even consent – he loves supporting charities.

His point is if he holds the ball of twine then someone else is going to ask him to juggle ducks. It wont ever end and because he did the twine thing he’ll get internet reamed when he declines the other stuff. Though the offer/requirement to donate to charity for ridiculous requests should filter out most of the duck juggling…

Being the kind hearted person you are maybe you could collect $750 from your readers for Nathan Fillion and tell him to go buy himself a sense of humor. It would be the least we could all do for having the audacity of trying to include him in our twine fun which resulted in annoying him instead.

Well, the way I see it… like it matters in the slightest…. it really is his loss.

While I do enjoy his work as an actor, he had an opportunity to probably get even more fans with a lil silliness.
I can respect his decision and right to say “NO” but I think he kind of missed the boat of this one.

How do they not get the humor in twine? It’s twine! You, on the other hand, were all class. Thank you for always providing a healthy dose of ridiculousness to cheer me up and remind me not to take life so serious. At least he finally replied so you can move on to the next unsuspecting celeb.

I sorta get his point, but when I look at his statement all I see is “The Gardner is not my friend, he is hired help, that makes him a robot that can not be funny or associate with me on a personal level”

I was fucking *over the moon* happy the day you gave me a follow back on twitter. Knowing that you probably don’t really keep track of my tweets about my 8 kids doesn’t bother me in the least. I was more focused on the fact that I was a real person to you, someone you *may* want to check in on from time to time.

I’d totally give you some twine pictures, but then I might have CPS after me (I joke, the kids are TOTALLY NOT tied up with it) You let me know if some twine-age would make you happy. 🙂 I’ll go and wrap our gigantic fish fountain in our village for ya. 🙂

First off, Erin #287 – LOVE the idea of snubbing NF in the grocery store. Hilarious.

I’m in the camp that feels like he really just comes off like a pompous ass. Too bad for him, I will retain that impression going forward. While he might not care all that much, for someone who works in an industry that requires FANS to keep you in business, it seems like a mis-step. But whatever, I’m over him now.

I can understand him not wanting to respond to these things. I can understand him thinking the joke had gotten out of hand. But I can’t stop thinking that if he had said all of this at the outset, he would have looked a lot better. I also feel like he could have written this out in much less condescending tone.

I like Nathan, I love Firefly, I’ll still watch Castle. But Nathan, you’re definitely less cool than I thought. You bucked a chance to get some notoriety and donations for your charity. You treated a fan like a nuisance by letting a joke get out of hand and then reacting to it as if you were asked to carry sandbags across a desert.

I’m now suitably chastened; I know not to ever ask for an autograph should I ever meet you.

Chr*st. Put on your big girl panties and snap a 2-second twine picture, for crying out loud. Apparently the days spent avoiding a good-natured joke, coupled with the time wasted composing that pompous rant , was more worthwhile than gaining fans?!. Excellent way to market yourself as a major DB.

Wow. I have to say… I’ve lost some of my Nathan Fillion love after his response. Not much, mind you, but still.

I think andrea summed it up for me (a few comments up) pretty well here -Mr. Fillion’s refusal to take a moment of his time and do something so very simple was lame. His response and the question “is that fair?” is even more lame.

Yes, it IS fair to ask you to do something that simple to connect with the people who have supported your acting and projects for years now. He has passed up the opportunity to provide money to his charity by snapping a quick photo of himself with an inanimate object: something that none of us has the power to do because we are NOT famous actors.

So yes, it was perfectly fair and frankly AWESOME of you to ask it of him and he is less awesome for being all hoity-toity about it. I don’t care if I spelled that wrong. I’m only a Journalism major, it’s not FAIR to ask me to use words that are actually recognized by the English dictionary. /eyeroll

I think it’s Nathan Fillion’s loss, but I am with you when you say that his decline resulted in Matthew Broderick with a spoon, and really, you can’t get much better than Ferris Bueller with a spoon. (Not to mention the awesomeness of Simon Pegg and Jeri Ryan and both the Wheatons.) You come out on top, and all I’ve ever said to Nathan Fillion on the subject is “Cap’n.” That’s apparently all he wants from his fans.

Sigh. When people write something starting with “Sigh.”, what follows is sure to be self important and pompous. Jenny, your response was gracious. Nathan, it’s too bad that you still can’t see past your own ego to see what this was and how your reaction made you look. It’s his loss. I might add, if you don’t want attention directed at you by crazy people Nathan, then perhaps Redit probably was a poor choice of venue for your months tardy response.

First of all, I apologize on behalf of all Canadians. And am grateful you will still visit our country. If I could figure out a way to have all of us meeting you holding twine I would. Secondly did anyone read through the whole reddi thread? At one point someone asked “What is your favourite product placement on Castle” and Nathan Fillion replied “I don’t pimp out products if i don’t use them”. Or words to that effect. So – perhaps the real issue is not him posing with something in general, but that ou chose twine, which he has no use for? Though that is slim I know – my vote is more for number three. Which is – thirdly – get over yourself Nathan Fillion. You’re hardly needing to worry about fulfilling the request to hold twine and then forevermore be swamped by paparrazi whereever you go – Justin Bieber you are not – who now gets WAY more respect coming his way from me, as someone who shows regularly that he appreciates his fans, doesn’t just take them for granted and realizes that a small thing, even an inconvenience for him, is a big deal to someone else so will take the time to make the effort. Shame that a pop star teenager has more grace and gratitude than an aging actor.

i think we all need to take photos of ourselves with twine and post them on the internet or send them to you Jenny, or nathan fillion, and be all like “TWINE SOLIDARITY!” and as a subtle message, “hey look nathan fillion, all these people could take time out of their lives to snap a picture holding twine…so you can too, jerkface.” er, not that i think it’s really weird of him or anything. (it is really weird of him not to play along.) this second i am going to twine on my blog and the facebook. let’s also somehow make this into a charity thing. twine for orphans! twine against illiteracy! twine for the twineless!

Both of you were totally polite, and we can all live with the outcome. I still think he’s a pleasure to watch in the roles he’s played.

I can’t help but feel, though, he’s miscalculating. Yes, he’s an actor; yes, he tells stories. But . . . for whom does he act and to whom does he tell stories? I mean, if he’s doing it for the paycheck, or his own satisfaction, and it ends there, then his reaction makes total sense.

But, although I won’t attempt to read his mind specifically, I don’t think any actor does it purely for themselves, or they wouldn’t be drawn to the profession to start with. The whole point of acting is to go in front of as many other people as you can and perform, presumably to make them happy (or sad, or impressed, or whatever, just something plus). A ridiculously large number of people would have been made happy by the small gesture. But perhaps there would be no challenge in it for him (being rewarded for just being himself), and that’s a turn-off.

I’m sure he gets a bunch of strange requests all the time, and that probably won’t ever stop (although, someday, it might, omnia mutantur). It’s reasonable to wonder if, by giving into one request, “where would it end?” Of course, it ends when you want it to, but it’s also worthwhile to wonder what would be lost by never even starting.

I think he wants to be able to decide what he does or doesn’t endorse. Like someone already said, posing for this photo is the equivalent of doing a commercial for the blog. Broderick and sexy Star Trek girl doing the photos of their own accord makes them look cool and hilarious, and maybe they don’t like NF and wanted to rub it in a little. Or they were fans already. Who knows? Fame is currency and NF clearly thinks the Bloggess can’t afford him.

See, now before this I just thought he was being dismissive. Now I think he’s a holier-than-though piece of crap. I, too, lack a gardener and car washer (I do those things for myself, thanks, I have a GREAT sense of humor), but I do like to joke around with my grocery baggers, who seem to appreciate a little levity to their workday…as opposed to a sanctimonious bag of hot air who would prefer to get on with his day without making eye contact with the help. There are much bigger actors who jumped in on the fun. Seems he needs to get over himself lest he find himself lacking any requests for appearance, no matter how seemingly mundane.🙂 (end rant)

While I still love Nathan Fillion as an actor (I’ll watch Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog *anytime*), I’m so disappointed to learn that he apparently has no real sense of humor, and does not follow Wheaton’s Law. I’m confused by his reference to asking his gardener to do something like pose with twine for charity, unless his gardener is Eminem or someone else famous. Although, I’ll admit, while in Vegas, my best friend and I did carry our autographs around and when we ran into famous people, we would run up to them and give them OUR autograph…so maybe he would ask his gardener for a photo.

I learned that you, Jenny, are super classy as well as hilarious. It’s no wonder Wil, Matthew, and all the others sent you pictures! Maybe Nathan will figure out one day what exactly he missed out on.

Oh sigh my ass. He’s a famous guy because of the fans. So really? Why so stuffy? He says he’s an actor and he is in the public domain-so the argument about the gardener etc doesn’t fly with me. That being said, if someone asked me, their nurse, to do some crazy twin holding gig for them, hell yeah I’d do it. I’d do it for Will Wheaton and I’d do it for Matthew Broderick, but I am not sure I’d do it for Nathan Fillian.
Just sayin’.

In my humble opinion, Matthew Broderick is WAY more famous and sought after for requests than Nathan Fillion and he joyfully participated in the silliness. Nathan came off looking like an egotistical arse. I’m glad he at least admitted he basically has no sense of humor because he just has sooooo many requests all the time….sigh is right.

Some celebrities are lovely, wonderful and charming people who are gracious when they meet their fans. You know, celebrities like Wil Wheaton, John, Stamos, and Rob Lowe.

Some celebrities are not and, instead, are pretentious and rude and treat you like you are dog poo they have just stepped in. Even when they say that their motto is something like, oh, I don’t know, “It costs nothing to say something kind. Even less to shut up altogether.”

I was calm and quiet and polite when I met all four of the celebrities I’ve referred to here. I approached them at events where they were making public appearances. Three of them chose to be human beings in response.

I get where Fillion is coming from, definitely. And I’m sure it gets annoying having to deal with the volume of followers he deals with. However, I feel like his response is akin to teachers’ standard rule “if I bend the rules for you, I’d have to bend the rules for everyone”. This “rule”, simply put, is kind of just political speak for “I don’t care enough to put time into this”. It’s dismissive, and kind of a horrible rule of thumb. Every situation is different. Of course, Fillion is entitled to do and think whatever he wants – but for those that choose that route, keep in mind that you’ll probably be treated the same way in return.

It’s not that he doesn’t have a sense of humor. It’s that he doesn’t have our sense of humor. And that is totally and completely fine.

I knew a guy in college who kept asking out this really pretty girl who was way out of his league (not because of looks but because he was a d-bag and she was gorgeous, funny, smart, and usually kind and therefore could choose to date non-dbags). She would say yes and then stand him up. And he’d just keep asking her out. I asked him once why he kept doing it when she clearly had no interest in him, and he said, “I’m going to *make* her tell me no.” Yes, she should have just turned him down. But he had his answer. She wasn’t interested. So after awhile, his behavior was as inexcusable as hers because he was trying to force her to respond in the way he believed he deserved.

We have no right to make people respond in the way we want them to. If someone has been asked to do something many, many, many times and he never does it, he *has* said no even without using those words. He’s not waiting until he’s been asked 500 times. He’s not interested. And yes, he’s an actor, and he’s in the public eye, but it’s still just a job, and even public figures aren’t required to submit to every small favor asked of them, or to be good sports about being asked about it over and over again. Yes, it was a small favor, but you can imagine that actors get asked to do small favors by fans all the freakin’ time.

In my job, we have to reject applications/requests people file with our department when they don’t exactly comply with specifications. I’m sure the people on the outside would think we’re being too picky and we should just fix the small errors, because to them, they think it’s a tiny thing. But we get so, so many filings with these tiny errors, so if we did that, we’d have very little time to actually do our job and process the filings that were done correctly. My point is that what seems like a small request from our perspective may not be so small from his.

I don’t like that he started his post with “Sigh,” because that comes across as obnoxious, but I’m guessing he’s just really, really, really tired of being asked about this. I thought it was hilarious at first, but after awhile it had started to seem like harassment, or at least like that non-funny person at the party who won’t stop trying to be funny when has lost his audience. I’m glad it’s finally over.

I’m with everyone who thought NF’s response was self-important. While I certainly agree that he has the right to decline or accept whatever he wants to, and didn’t personally care whether he posed with twine or not (and had in fact, managed to forget about it almost completely in the time involved), the *way* he declined was far less classy than it appeared. Sighing over the phone or in person is one thing, but when you are communicating over the internet, you generally take the time to think about the words you’re using. You don’t type “sigh” unless you intend to make a point with it; and frankly, it’s pretty rude. I might type “sigh” to someone who *themselves* asked me the same question six times, but not simply to the sixth person who asked the question. And it certainly wasn’t just the sigh, the whole tone, given the words he chose, rankled.

I agree that probably the twine requesters went a bit overboard and were probably becoming very annoying, and that that wasn’t fair to him; but there’s no reason for such a condescending and self-important response. It’s certainly not unfair to ask a public figure to pose for a picture, especially not when done with a(n arguably) substantial financial gain attached. As someone else pointed out, it’s not at all like asking a homeless person to break a $100 – which, yes, would be unfair.

And to the person who said it was like asking him to do a commercial for free, you seem confused. A fan offered him $750 for him/a charity of his choice, to pose with a bit of twine. That certainly doesn’t equate to “for free“, and “a fan” is not the same as a commercial venture. Your analogy is as full of holes as your claim that we are/Jenny is “smearing the name of a good actor”.

I’ll continue rewatching Firefly, and any other shows I find that I like that happen to have him in them, but I’ve lost any real desire I had to meet him now, which is a shame. Although as my opportunities to meet him are probably minute, given my income and locale, not as much of a shame as it might otherwise be.

On a final note, I want to add my support to everyone suggesting Joss Wheedon, David Tennett, Sheldon (whose actor name I know not), NPHarris and Betty White for twine pictures. Also BW & the vibrator AND twine picture.

As things go, a request for a picture holding some twine isn’t that heinous. You can do it. You can say no. You can ignore it entirely. But getting offended because somebody asked seems a bit precious.

I mean, it’s not like when I asked Susan Sarandon for a picture of herself doing my taxes.

You know, I get what Nater Tater’s saying, I just am saddened at the way he said it. This was all in fun. It makes me sad when celebrities take themselves too seriously. I mean, c’mon – they earn ridiculous amounts of money by *pretending* for a living! NF himself said his brother told him that he can’t believe he gets paid to act like himself. (Paraphrasing there.)

But then I read Rev. back It On Up’s (#121) comment and totally snarfed my ice blended mocha chip. Thanks for that, Dude!! :

It never fails to amaze me what a gracious, poised woman you are. How were you ever able to respond in such an awesome way? I never would have been able to do that. But maybe one day. We love you. And we love all your quirkiness and love being that way with you. He’s just one man. And yeah, I’m a bit disappointed he’s not as quirky as us, but remember that you have a TON of people around who are! Love love love!

I have a job that involves students. I teach. At a university. For a living. Sometimes my students ask me questions on my way out the door. Or in an email. After hours. And on weekends. And those questions require my intellect, which is my commodity. Sometimes it takes 10 or 15 minutes to answer a question. Sometimes those questions aren’t about what I teach. Sometimes I want to get home to read the Bloggess’ readers’ comments. Sometimes I’m reading the Bloggess and that annoying email ‘ping’ happens and I go check my inbox and it’s a student. Sometimes I have to leave the Bloggess’ comments and answer students; emailed questions. And you know what? I ANSWER THEM! Because if it weren’t for students, I wouldn’t have a job. That I’m good at. That I love. Just a thought…

Grow a sense of humor, Castle. You’re an actor. You’re not ordained or appointed…just lucky. There’s a million out there better than you who just didn’t end up in the right place at the right time. Come down out of your self-built tower and show a little appreciation to people who are making sure you can pay your bills while you “work” so hard at being a great American storyteller. Whining is the opposite of gratefulness.

The way he responded just made this situation even more uncomfortable. The twine photo request wasn’t meanspirited, it was not disrespecting his privacy – he didn’t even have to respond to it. Responding to it and saying “no” actually probably took way more time out of his day than a simple phone camera and a ball of twine ever would have.

I think Nathan is a good man with a good sense of humor. I fully understand and respect his views on this subject. Everyone has limits to what they are willing to do and it doesn’t make him any less awesome or funny or decent that this is his. I even think it shows a really great sense of fairness on his part that he doesn’t want to give in to certian random requests and make others feel slighted that theirs weren’t honored as well. He didn’t give in just because the request came from a popular blogger with an army of internet minions. If he doesn’t honor requests from the average person, it shouldn’t be any different just because an army of minions gangs up on him. He is showing respect for ALL his fans. I will always support Nathan.

And on the matter of what celebrities “sign up for” when they become celebrities… Nathan is an actor, his job is to act in movies and tv shows and promote those to the best of his ability, such as by appearing at conventions or red carpet events. I don’t believe in this whole attitude that their lives basically become public domain and we can watch ALL their intimate moments, bug them whenever and however we like, and that they somehow HAVE to give us every picture, every conversation, every ounce of their lives and energy, just because we felt touched by their body of work on the screen. They have the right to decide how to spend their time, their money, their energy, and their lives. Yes, people like Wil are amazing gems. He is brilliant and fabulous. But he chooses to engage with us and it is his right. Just as any person has a right to decide if they want to blog, or tweet, or post photos of their families, or remain anonymous to some degree. I see varying levels of engagement from regular people on the internet, and I believe famous people have the same rights to decide how much they engage. Any choice they make, so long as they aren’t actively trying to hurt others, does not change whether they are good, humorous, fun and decent people. It just identifies their level of comfort.

I think it shows off OUR good qualities when we accept other people’s limits without judging them as somehow less than others because they can’t or won’t do all the same things. Is someone who is super shy and anxious somehow inherently less sweet and funny a person just because she can only share those qualities with a few people as opposed to the whole world? Certainly not. It just means she is different in her expression as a person. She’s still a person of worth even if it’s only seen by one or two other people.

Thank you, Jenny, for graciously letting this one go, now that you have heard his response. I hope your fans will follow your good lead and wish Nathan well and continue to support him as an actor and refrain from judging his character by his limits. He does good things, whether for charity or for his loved ones, and that is really the only thing we should measure him by (outside his outstanding performances as Mal, of course).

People taking themselves too seriously? Try various people who are writing NF off because he didn’t do some silly thing that you wanted him to do. Even people with senses of humour get to choose how they play.

I have to say, I am a little bummed out. I had thought of NF as one of those saavy internet fun people, like WilW et al.. and then he had to go and be all weird about it. I read his blurb, he was ok .. but ew, I had that creepy hangover feeling like I had done something wrong. I just don’t like him anymore. Over him. It is the End of Nation Fillion for me.

OMG – I totally second and third and fourth whoever suggested asking Bruce Campbell to do something cool. Because Bruce Campbell is made of awesome and is probably the only celebrity that I would ever lose my shit over if I met him.

Very classy & gracious reply Jenny. And don’t worry, you don’t need he who will not hold twine because you’ll always have the awesomeness that is @wilw to play and do things like collate and hold twine.

I’ve got $10 that says the Castle writers will have him holding a ball of twine this season, if not the first eppy. The writers are awesome at the inside gags and when all is said and done, Fillion does have a good sense of humour (see I’m Canadian too, eh? “our”) and it’s always good to remember that there is more than one way to skin a cat. Figuratively speaking of course. Do not be skinnin’ any real cats people.

Loved your response. I confess I had to google Nathan Fillion because I had no idea who he was. I do, however, know who YOU are because I love this blog, your amazing sense of humor which makes me laugh out loud constantly (so much that my husband doesn’t ask what I’m reading on my phone anymore, he just knows its this blog) and I love love loved your book (which I read cover to cover on vaca and was sad when it was finished!) So this Nathan mcfancypants Fillion can go scratch if he doesn’t want to play along. You handled it with class and good humor. It’s his loss IMHO. You rock, Jenny!

The end of Nathan.
I actually think you might be as famous as he is right about now!
However, he was gracious, so he wins points on that one.
He might win more points for rethinking and posing for the picture for the charity money!
Because after all, you are very famous these days, everyone knows about your book!
Castle might only be on the air for another year and your book will be on the best seller list for eons!

I think someone missed the point of this whole joke entirely. And I don’t think he was gracious about it at all, actually. It was quite obviously a joke spawned by a humor blog, and it would have been entirely appropriate to say no, if he wanted to, while still trying to play into the humor of the situation. Nathan Fillion, I am disappoint.

Also…Gardeners, eh? Well, I happen to work with an interior/exterior landscaping business. This gal here is one of those lowly gardeners that he was referring to, and and I would be happy (as I believe the entire crew would probably be) to take a photo holding twine for you.

He does sound like an arrogant asshole. And if he doesn’t like fans, he doesn’t have to have any. Honoring the occasional whackadoodle😉 , especially when it was never ONE fan asking, but enough fans to put a book on the NYT bestseller list for multiple months, is just a way to relate to the world at large. OTHER celebrities caught on to the joke, and acting like real people, played along. The Army, Walmart, and other giant entities are having more fun on FB talking to real people than Nathan Fillion seems to understand how to handle. Poor little put upon man.

Awwww… that’s disappointing. I’m glad that you let him know that you are a NYT best-selling author and that you’re about to be off on a book tour. I’m amazed that he didn’t just play along, esp. for charity. I agree that it’s really cool that so many other people like Wil Wheaton & Matthew Broderick have come through.
And…the line about “It’s not fair to ask” was BLERGH.
I thought he was more fun than he came across as.

Nater-Tater is Canadian?!?!? Well, that explains it. It’s like Barney keeps saying on HIMYM, “Poor Robin, having to grow up in Canada with America RIGHT THERE!” CLEARLY he is still not over this trauma. (Just teasing, no offence intended to any Canadians except NF, who has no idea what it means to be furiously happy.)

I think NF’s response was seriously off-putting, much like a nun smacking you with a ruler for talking in class. He could have simply said ‘I don’t believe in doing that sort of publicity,’ and left it at that instead of showing that he’s gotten so puffed up that he has to mention his gardener and chauffeur.

Mrs. Lawson’s response was gracious and pointed. I appreciated that she was always kind and respectful (because his wasn’t… even if you think you’re talking to a crackpot, you should be polite). I hope he has a brief millisecond of discomfort when he reads her response (but he might not… came off as seriously full of himself).

And actors are public figures. When you do that first audition, you’re setting your feet on a path that just might lead to paparazzi chasing you for a picture, and wacky requests are always going to be part of that millieu. Just learn to say ‘no’ graciously if you’re going to refuse or get your PA (if you’ve got a gardener, you prolly have a PA) to do it for you.

My favorite comment of all above is: “I guess we all know who won’t be playing Victor in Jenny’s BLOCKBUSTER film titled, “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened and That Nathan Fillion Actually DID Pose With Twine”.”

Wow, I had no idea who Nathan Fillion was before all this mess, but I must say, I won’t be going out of my way to watch any of his stuff. That “sigh” was very condescending and arrogant. I understand he probably gets inundated with ridiculous requests, but he could easily ignore them or, if he felt he must respond, a simple “no thank you” would suffice. Your response was gracious and classy, Jenny. I am excited to meet you in Portland in a couple of weeks!

Nathon just lost a whole lot of respect in my eyes. His career may be as an actor, but the fact that he has a fan base of insane humans that want to ogle him is the reason why he keeps getting cast in roles. I did not find it a respectful response. I found it to be somewhat rude to his massive fan base, and maybe we should just take him off our twitter feeds because, he’s apparently not fun enough.

Oh, sigh, Nathan Fillion. I fear he’ll be quite crotchety and fist-shakey in his old age. (And mind you, I’m not calling him old now – I’m a couple months from 41 and hell if *I’m* old now.)

Anyway, I spent the better part of my recent week in Alaska approaching strangers, asking them to fondle a pair of knit tits I made for a friend who had a mastectomy. They needed to be properly loved and molested before I (cleaned them thoroughly and) sent them to her. Only two declined, but not one participating declined having their photograph taken with the knitties. It was beautiful, sexy, hysterical, liberating, and sweet all at the same time.

Maybe Nathan Fillion is just above twine. (So much for artistic license, right?) Not that I’d ask him about motor boating my friend’s knitties; the silver lining of the Twine Request Avoidance earns him a pass.

To answer his question: Yes, it IS fair to ask. Whether you’re an actor or a gardener, it’s fair to have someone ask you to do something quick and harmless to add a little spot of joy in the world.

Sure, it’s fair for him to decline. He has the right to decide what he will and won’t do.

It’s also fair for his fans to think a little less of him for declining, especially in such an asshat way. And that’s a shame for him, since his chosen career depends on having a large fan base. At least the gardener who declines really doesn’t need people on his Twitter feed.

I’ll throw out a theory. I’m a Redditor and had never heard of you before the twine thing. (Sorry, but it’s the truth.) When I saw the post requesting the pic with some twine it set off my ‘WTF alarm’. Twine didn’t sound fun and goofy, it immediately sounded like some sort of weird kink. Maybe you’d have been luckier if you’d asked for a photo of him holding a doorstop. We’ll never know.

Disappointed as I am that he won’t do it, I respect that he politely declined. The internet is a wonderful thing nowadays. Celebrities have more immediate access to their fans than in the past, so it’s great that he has taken advantage of the connection and finally responded.

While I do wish he would have done it, I understand his need to put his foot down. Just like you said, dearest Jenny, I am just happy he finally responded and did so without any unnecessary anger.

Also, the TV show Firefly was amazing, though it only lasted 1 season. Everyone should watch that, too!

This month I will be going to GenCon with my BFF who is also a huge fan of yours. I am taking a large ball of twine with me. We will be dressed up in costumes for GenCon (including my 8 year old daughter who will be a mermaid).

You can look forward to many pictures of us holding twine as well as pictures of our cats holding twine. I hope it brings you happiness.🙂

Sometimes when we meet a celebrity or a favorite author it is re-affirmation of why we like them. We have the wonderful experience of discovering that they are funnier in person (Will Wheaton), warmer and more loving (Jenny), and smarter (Ed Asner is brilliant and I nominate him for twine status), and more talented (I like that Betty White nomination too!), than we thought they were. Other times, we are a bit disappointed because they just don’t live up to our admittedly high expectations, we come away feeling a bit let down and disappointed. I don’t know about Fillion, he seems to fall into the later category but maybe he has a lot of stalkers and he just got weirded out. It is possible that he has a sense of humor even if it is admittedly not as good as Will Wheaton’s – but then again who does – OK Simon Pegg.

I have become a HUGE Weaton fan as a result of his twine and collating experiences so I am admittedly biased. I liked the guy before and I enjoyed his work but Wheaton and his willingness to play made me appreciate him even more.

Thank you for being so funny Jenny and for being so classy. And the next time you hear from Will Wheaton thank him for having a sense of humor and for remembering that remembering how to play, is at the core of good acting.

I totally understand that it is his choice with what he does with his time BUT, he’s the one that got into acting. He has to understand that sometimes you have to do things for your fans. You can’t have a career without fans. I think someone said that he doesn’t sign autographs either? Doesn’t he know that besides getting to plant the pretty flowers that gardeners have to pull the weeds too?

To all of Jenny Lawson’s fans who have been so insulting to Nathan Fillion, get a grip. Keith Craker is correct when he wrote, “While Nathan Fillion’s explanation wasn’t as footloose and fancy-free as some would have liked, it was still perfectly reasonable and remarkably professional . . .” In this situation Nathan Fillion is not the douche bag and arrogant asshat but those who are being discourteous towards him are.

To ask someone to do something is not mean but to have hundreds of your followers start to bombard that person with demands that he acquiesce to the request IS mean and RUDE. If you, Jenny Lawson, asked your followers to email, tweet or mail Nathan Fillion to take a picture of himself holding twine, then, yes, I think you too were being mean and RUDE. If you did not ask them to do this, then perhaps a post from you telling them to stop being so ill mannered would be timely. This man has done nothing to you or your followers and does not deserve to be reviled in this way.

To your followers who have suggested that they will no longer watch Nathan Fillion’s television shows or movies; all you are doing is showing how ignorant you are. Do you really believe that art is good or bad depending on the character of the person creating the said art? If that is so, then you will no longer be able to watch the almost perfect performances of Marlon Brando in films because he was such a nasty womaniser; see the absolute beauty in Vincent van Gogh’s paintings because he committed suicide; or read a book that shows the genius of Dickens because of the way he treated his wife and children. That strikes me as stupid.

All I can say is I am sorry Jenny, that you have such a lot of followers who do not follow your example of graciously explaining why you asked for the picture in the first place, thanked him for his response and wished him well.

I guess I’m in the minority, but I think you BOTH handled it with dignity and grace. I kinda like the fact that Nathan Fillion seems to think of himself as “a guy with a job” and not a “super-fabulous famous person.” It’s sort of endearing.

It would have been cool but come on… He’s there to do a job – which is to entertain through acting. And he’s a good actor. That may be all he wants to do. I love how people think they know him so well as to think he’s a pompous, miserly bastard when all they really know is his name and what he does for a living. He didn’t want to take part in the fun, that’s his prerogative. I would be pretty peeved if I then had a few hundred people pinging me all over the websphere demanding that I acquiesce to the request of some random person online.

Pixie has said it best:

“I think it shows off OUR good qualities when we accept other people’s limits without judging them as somehow less than others because they can’t or won’t do all the same things.”

Definitely time to stop throwing around insults, insinuations and generalisations and let this go. I think Jenny’s response was amusing and very gracious. We should all follow suit.

I think you were gracious. And of course we need to respect people’s feelings, but also, NF’s JOB is to be in the limelight. Yes, he is an actor and need not do everything we require, but YES, he’s an actor! We kinda are the ones who pay his salary. Maybe he should have been a little more gracious as well. Responding to the question in a timely matter, regardless of whether he took the picture or not, would have saved him from how big it has gotten. And, by the way, I love Wil Wheaton infinitely more JUST because he plays along. He doesn’t take himself so seriously, and others should learn from him.

It’s fun to do silly stuff. It’s dehumanizing to have people demand that you do a specific silly thing for them (especially repeatedly, ignoring your lack of response). Humour is subjective and nobody deserves to be treated like a puppet, even for a small thing.

My favorite part of this whole Nathan thing (I feel like I can be on a first-name basis now that he’s added his two cents on the topic) was how the other actors who actually get you came out of the woodwork bearing spatulas and twine.🙂

Most people have spell checker on their computer. It looks like ol’ Nater Tater needs douche checker. A little paper clip in a backwards hat can pop up and tell you all the douchey things you just typed. ” Is that being fair?” Guess what, Nater? Life’s not fair. Most people don’t have to worry about joking around with the gardener because people would start wondering why they were talking to themselves.

I really don’t care whether he wants to ask the Gardner where the twine is or not. Part of your job as a celebrity is protecting your image. He just made a large readership of fans collectively say, “Sigh. What a douche.” I think Nater is the one that really loses out here.

I LOVED Nathan Fillion. I was a huge fan of him on Buffy, Firefly, DHSAB, etc. I have to agree with the “what a douche” comment from above. It takes, what, 10 seconds to hold some twine and snap a pic? *sad* Maybe if he would have declined by saying he was allergic to twine, or hadlinonophobia (fear of string), and then privately emailed you to tell you no more stalking.

He’s a douche. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is when actors take themselves so seriously. I mean really, they call it art and I call it make believe. His character on tv is fun, but now that I know that in real life he has a giant stick stuck up his ass, he’s going to have to become a better actor to keep me interested.

I don’t think Nathan Fillon is a douche for not doing it – that’s his choice – nor how he phrased his response. If that’s his personal policy, then fair ’nuff. Sure, it’s going to look like he’s not as good humoured for going along with it as others were by comparison, but eh – he doesn’t have to appear good humoured either.

But I also don’t think it’s fair to berate Jenny for her fans ‘harassing’ him. Aside from what everyone does being individual choice, she did herself say:

‘I do appreciate you taking the time to answer this and from now on when people ask if you’ve taken the twine picture instead of answering “I still have hope” I will say that you’ve respectfully declined and I’m sure my fans will just be happy that you responded.’

People should chill. Jenny isn’t mean for the twine thing and Nathan isn’t mean for not doing it.

I’ve never posted here before and I know that this is mean, but I REALLY want to start a blog where we get our grocery baggers to hold twine. I’m a bad, bad girl. I can see how it has gone too far, but its there now, out there, and Nathan Fillion just made classist remarks about grocery baggers and gardeners and I can’t just ignore THAT. The dude deserves a couple dozen pictures of grocery baggers holding twine in his inbox. He just deserves it.

The reddit community is a little hostile. I much prefer your bizzaro humor to their hateful banter. Love your work jenny. I hope stuff like this doesn’t get you down. I know my skin would be too thin, but i suspect you are made of sterner stuff.

I think you should bid on this African Lion, name it Nathan Fil-LION and dress it in a dinner jacket made of dyed twine. I also think a tiny black top hat on its head and a bejeweled spatula between its teeth would be a nice touch, but I’ll leave the fashion choices up to you. All the claws are intact, so a kicky mani/pedi is an option, although that might make Beyonce the Chicken a bit jealous. I’m not entirely certain about the status of her chicken fingers (3? 8? 9? are we counting the little mini finger thing on the back of the chicken leg? Are they even all intact? ), but she does seem like a bit of a Diva. Hard to say for sure since I only know her through your blog. My apologies if that isn’t the case.
Anyway, problem solved!http://www.ebay.com/itm/AFRICAN-LION-TAXIDERMY-MOUNT-LIFE-SIZE-/160851491105?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25737ef921#ht_500wt_1170

I was at Ikea today and outside in the loading area there was a box labled “TWINE” for you to tie packages to your car. I pulled out about ten feet of twine and asked my boyfriend to hold it while I tooky his picture. Picture caption: “Not too famous”.

I was at Ikea today and outside in the loading area there was a box labled “TWINE” for you to tie packages to your car. I pulled out about ten feet of twine and asked my boyfriend to hold it while I took his picture. Picture caption: “Not too famous”.

I don’t know that I like Nathan Fillion. I like some of his work, but I don’t know him as a person, so I can’t like or dislike him or find anything to enjoy about him other than, say, Firefly. I kind of got the feeling that he felt above doing this, and missed the whimsical point of the twine request. I personally like Will Wheaton so much better now that I’ve seen him collating and photo bombing. HE has a sense of humor; a sense of the whimsical. I love that you got the poke in about you having an actual book on the NYT list. To a lot of us out there who don’t watch much TV, this makes you far more famous than Nathan Fillion. Hell, he should be asking YOU to do ridiculous things. He should be lusting after YOUR body. He should offer to support YOUR charities.

I think what this solidies for me is that NF is not Malcolm Reynolds. That’s the only role I’ve seen him in, and the only thing in his filmography I would want to see him in (I’m a notoriously tough room when it comes to movies, and it is an act of divine providence that I met and married a woman* who understands my tastes).

Mal is a prankster, with a sense of whimsy and a wicked appreciation for the absurd.
NF is an actor.

*Any woman who on her own falls in love with the series The Great Queen Seondeok AND will watch Deathsport with me AND get nekky with me from time to time is proof of said divine providence.

You know, Nater-Tater really should THANK YOU, because as I’ve observed on this thread, the only reason half of the Lawsbians know who he is is BECAUSE OF YOU. He’s really lucky that he has a fan like you.

SO, You’re most welcome, Nathan Fillion, that Jenny loves you so much.

I just thought of how they could write the best Castle episode ever. Someone is murdered with twine (lots of twine) and throughout the show, you keep thinking he’s about to pick up some of the twine, but something always happens so he never does. If he does have a sense of humor, then he picks up the twine at the end of the show. If he has no sense of humor, then he never picks it up. I know of about a million Bloggessians (I just can’t get on board with Lawsbians or whatever it is) who will watch for sure. Will he pick up the twine or won’t he? It will have real life suspense. If any writers of Castle are reading this: you’re welcome for your EMMY!

P.S. Drinking game! We haven’t done that in a while. In the Castle Twine episode, every time NF reaches for the twine, we have to drink a shot. What was it you were drinking before, cake vodka? Is that a real thing? What flavor? German chocolate vodka? Red velvet vodka? Wedding cake vodka? Yummy.

P.P.S I don’t know about the real NF’s sense of humor, but that taxidermied Nathan Fil-LION does not have a sense of humor. That is the angriest dead stuffed animal I’ve ever seen. You have to get it Jenny!! I think the real NF should buy it for you as an — I’m sorry I thought you were a stalker, but really made me much more famous than I could ever have done on my own — gift. What would Hunter S. Tomcat and Ferris Mewler think of that addition to the household? I already know what Victor would think. Killjoy! Imagine the security it could provide. No burglars, ever. And, you could advertise better on that than Pony Danza.

I second Shawn’s idea that he’s “painted himself into a corner” with his refusal to play.
I’m aware that assigning a tone to a written piece can be fraught with difficulty (however deftly The Glorious Bloggess manages it), so it’s entirely possible that I’m completely wrong. However, having seen and read some of Nater Tater’s own shenanigans, and being familiar with the craziness of the Whedonites with whom he often associates, I have a difficult time believing that he’s as uptight and disinclined to random acts of charitable oddness as he seems to imply.
Similarly, he has a reputation among those Whedonites as having a certain amount of ego. I therefore find it difficult to believe that he was completely uninterested in the amount of activity that was generated with his name attached.
I suppose we’ll never know for certain. I DO think Kelly’s right on the money with the Castle episode, though – I know I’d still watch it!

You did the right thing with your response, I especially liked how you casually mentioned your best-selling book towards the end. So he understands you aren’t a commoner asking this horrible request of him.

I mean I get it, he didn’t want to do it. But so many other stars(who might I add are better known then he is) took the time to participate and understood the humor in it all. It couldn’t have hurt him to hold a ball of twine. From things I’ve seen on twitter there are famous writers, musicians, actors and other celebrity types who are much more involved with their fans and will do much more for them then hold a ball of twine. And I think that’s amazing, because they’re keeping that connection open with the people who HELPED them maintain that fame.

It really wouldn’t have killed him to do it, and he should have done it for the charity donation alone. That refusal just seems ridiculous. No one’s asking him to fly to their home viewing party or dig a trench. He just had to hold a ball of twine for a photo. And then money would have been given in his name by someone else to a charity. Crikey.

I can’t help but agree some of what he wrote comes off a bit “oh woe is me”. And that’s not something I want to hear from someone who is constantly in magazines and going to red carpet events.

Jenny, you’re awesome. And those who participated for you are pretty amazing individuals!

Well, I am almost a-frayed to say this, but I am officially knot a Nathan Fillion fan.

To me, he spent too much time twisting up that crappy excuse when he could have spent five seconds snapping a photo of his hand clutching twine. I’m so sorry that you are too good for twine, Nathan Fillion. You just lost another fan. Okay, I wasn’t really a fan, because deep down I knew he was pompous douche canoe, but now you’ve just confirmed it.

This is my second comment on this subject because I spoke with my friend Robbie and we both agreed that Nathan is definitely pop culture history and you are much more famous. That being said, I think that Alec Baldwin might be up for holding the ball of twine for a fee because he does have a sense of humor and doesn’t have a stick up his ass. Anyway, you might give him a try. I am one of his twitter followers. We share liberal politics and I used to work in Hollywood a few decades ago, now I teach (it’s much more rewarding).

Ok, Nater Tater has made his feelings known. He does not want to participate in AWESOMENESS so we should leave him alone…with his petty thoughts.

That said…who shall be the next twine target? We must filled the void Nathan has left. True, others (famous folk) have offered up pics of themselves with twine but for this project to be complete, we must select (hunt down) a new and hipper celebrity. Jenny, set this goal HIGH!! Make a list of 5-10 candidates and start a poll. When a new “Chosen One” is selected, we (your dedicated minions) will promote this project with intense vigor! We shall prevail! HOLDING TWINE OR BUST!

I’m thinking it would have been quicker to grab a ball of twine and shoot a quick pic with his iPhone than compose that response, but whatever. I can see the point that celebrities deserve privacy and all that, but without fans, there is no celebrity. So some things are just par for the course.
I propose that Bloggess fans send Nate the Great pictures of them holding a ball of twine in one hand and your book in the other!
(Disclaimer: If that happens and NF gets pissed and I could somehow get into trouble for spearheading harassment, I am kidding. *wink*)

I respect his stance, he has his code, as does everyone. However, if he is going to make the argument that he can’t do everything that every fan asks of him, he should have researched the fan he was publicly addressing. It should have been obvious to him that this wasn’t just an “every fan” kind of request. I mean, come on, he didn’t he find it odd that people were asking him on your behalf? You offered to donate money to his charity of choice, you are a well-known blogger and best-selling author, actors he knows are posing with random objects and photo-bombing him with random objects, for you.
It seems disrespectful of him not to do the simplest research in order to get to the route of the request before posting a public response.
Especially a response that begins with, “Sigh.”
You’ve dropped a few points in my esteem, Nathan. Sigh.

And as awesome as Adam Baldwin is as Jayne on Firefly, he is a major league tool IRL. He even went off on Wil Wheaton on Twitter for the Jenny Lawson is funnier than the Bible thing – and, apparently, it isn’t the first time that he’s been mean to our beloved Wil.

And, besides that, my sister has met him at conventions and says he really is a jerk.

Which is why I savor people like Wil Wheaton, Jeri Ryan, Matthew Broderick, Simon Pegg, and Brian Boitano all the more – they get that life is better when you join in the silliness. I loved Brian Boitano as a skater, but fell in love with him as a person when he was all into the South Park “What would Brian Boitano do?” gag.

I have no idea who Nathan Fillion is, because the only place I have heard about him is on your blog.

On the other hand, I have no idea who Wil Wheaton is either.

BUT, so far I have figured that Wil is a person with a sense of humor, a person who is willing to do something to make other people laugh and to make our days a little funnier. He seems to be a clever guy, because he figured the “online marketing” basics out pleasing his fans while getting extra publicity. I am now a fan of him without really knowing what he does.

Nathan Fillion, on the other side, come across as a pompous person that is a little bit too full of himself, that can’t take a joke, doesn’t understand the internet at all (instead of declining so abruptly, imagining him playing along… the publicity it would give would be worth a lot). I have zero interest to know more about this guy, zero interest in supporting his career (whatever it is) and zero interest in seeing him succeed in any way.

People need to laugh. I am absolutely certain that any gardener, the guy at the car wash or the kid in the store would be happy to do something silly for the sake of making other people laugh. And – this might be news to Nathan – people actually DO ask these people for things as well. Ordinary people around the world make fools of themselves (doing much sillier things than holding twine), simply because they want to make other people laugh. And we love them for it.

Again, I have no idea who Nathan Fillion really is, but the image he is presenting is that of a quite boring, self-obsessed guy who completely missed what internet is about.

I’m a teacher as my full time job. At least once a week a student approaches me with fund raiser in hand. Their club/ team/ extracredit project is to raise money for disaster relief/ international trip/ AIDS research and could I please buy some candy/ stickers/ unused toilet paper? It is extremely difficult to say no to any of them but I simply can’t afford to participate in every fund raiser that comes across my desk. I won’t want to deal with the drama of having kids try to suss out if I have favorites, and I don’t want any student to feel that because I have no interest in their poinsettias/ cookie dough/ wrapping paper that it’s some kind of statement about what I think of them as a student.

Sure I could afford, once in a while, to buy GS Cookes/ pizza kits/ bird feeders, but the moment I do, it’s guaranteed that someone will feel slighted. I knew I’d be working with teens as part of this job, but… well… I just have to say no. I do try to be up front and to politely decline at the beginning. I also, if it’s a cause/ fund/ club that I really do want to support, will quietly slip a direct donation into the sponsor’s mailbox (which is a far better return than balloons/ cheese trays/ mail order steaks).

yeah, or he could have taken 5 seconds out of his day to pose with the twine, knowing it would make a shit-ton of people happy. and this all could have been done with ages ago. “I’m an actor, I tell stories, it’s not my job blah blah blah.” oh shut up. it has nothing to do with being an actor or what you think your job is…it was all about being silly and making people happy.

I had to google him to find out who he was. I haven’t watched any of his shows. I did “kind of” recognize him but I think it’s just from commercials advertising all of the “quality television” he has been in.

No great loss, except for his charity. I hope he ponied up some cash on his own.

Wow. I was a grocery bagger at one point in my life and I’d hold twine for you… I’m not even close to being one of your most devoted followers either! I think he should have responded sooner and, although I never become fanatical about stars, his response really puts me off.

Thank you to those people who show they aren’t above having fun with the average, everyday folks that are their fans.

I have no idea who Nathan Fillion is, but I DO have your book and think you’re pretty brilliant. Love your response. Zing. I pretty much do whatever my four, three and 1/3 year old ask me to do – Maybe I should say – “no, I gave you life. I clothe and feed you. Ask no more of me.” But I don’t take myself that seriously so I’m okay with doing things like pretending I’m a giant shark on the living room floor while they dangle their toes at me from the sofa. I’d probably do that for you as well if you asked. And I was drinking. xx

Well, that sucks. I thought that all this time he was just playing hard-to-get with us.
I understand his response, but I’ve seen him signing autographs and taking pictures with fans, so how it acquiescing to those demands different than this one?
I enjoyed the updates and am going to miss this ongoing saga though.

You are as always a classy bird. Officially leaving him alone. Can we still play with twine though? Because i really want to see if my gardener and the guy in the supermarket would pose with twine for me. I don’t actually have a gardener. Or a garden. Or any twine. This may be a flawed plan.

Please ignore or delete last comment since one of my kitties hit the button. Anyway,
Dear Nathan,
Jenny is much classier and nicer than I am. You made the choice to become an actor and therefore in choosing fame and fortune you gave up a good chunk of your privacy. Did you notice the other celebrities who DID pose for funny pictures? Guess what, some of them are actually much more well known than you and they havent suddenly been bombed with requests. And then there is the fact that Jenny is a celebrity AND she offered to donate a nice chunk of money to your charity all for one picture. You PEED on your charity Nathan by refusing to take one small picture. I pray there isnt a charity that works with dying children and has a request for you because you might sigh again and explain in a world weary voice why you are so overwhelmed and are a SERIOUS ACTOR who doesnt have time. Be grateful Jenny is such a class act because she has a legion of minions just waiting to avenge her ( see William Shatner ). And to Jenny, I thank you more than I could ever express, you make me laugh and give me comfort and hope through panic attacks and zombie apocalypse issues. Please keep the kitty pictures coming and please please keep being yourself.

Man, reading this thread and that Reddit one sure did get me bitter with humankind LOL. I did participate in some silly excuse for discussion over there trying to defend Jenny from Fillion fanboys and I guess I’m about to step into it here trying to talk reason to Jenny’s “army” about “that pompous asshat” Fillion, LOL again.

Let me say first, that I thought both your responses were classy, reasonable and right on the money, and I am sure you both completely understand each other’s points and don’t have any ill feelings, which can’t really be said about your loyal fans. In Fillion’s case, let me side with @Patricia here:
“Maybe he could have done it right away — but once it rapidly turned into repeated pleas and an army of harassment, there was no way. It’s been a lost cause since the first time Jenny upped the ante on the request, because while it was funny at first it wasn’t funny once people went stalkerish, and nobody with fans can afford to let anyone think that stalking and harassment pays off. The other celebrity-with-weird-stuff pics were spur of the moment, not stalker responses.”

This. All celebs who answered first were IN on the joke, and took it as a silly fun from the start (Broderick is the reader of your blog even, if I remember correctly it was so long ago). And TBH I feel like others after that just jumped on the bandwagon because they heard (or were told by their publicists) that it was a cool thing to do (or don’t have a lot of followers/much experience on Twitter and never had to put up with odd fan requests on a daily basis). I would say more, Simon Pegg thing already felt pretty fishy to me, and I’m rather sure (I might be wrong though) that he only did it after consulting with his good buddy Fillion (and may be Wil) to avoid the kind of Twitter harassment and badmouthing N-T was getting at the time, his kinda pissed-off tone and “it’s only this time, don’t get any ideas!” tweets certainly suggested it. I’d even say that should SP’s been targeted first, and NF after that, you would’ve had a pic with Fillion and were engaging now in a hate campaign against Simon Pegg LOL. Funny how this alt history thing works.

Now to “harassment and badmouthing”. For those of you who state their disappointment in Nathan Fillion “not doing it for his fans” or even “not caring about those who made him famous”, it sure didn’t feel like that from the tweets he was receiving. In fact it read pretty much like these comments here: I don’t know who you are, but do it for Jenny because she’s awesome. I have Twitter for ages and follow both NF and The Bloggess (also for ages), and I USED to follow many Lawsbians because they looked like a cool bunch. And that is pretty much what I’ve seen in my timeline and in “responses” to Jenny’s funny tweets to NF. “Do it and prove you’re not a dick!”, “I never watched anything with you, but I’m writing this because The Bloggess told me”, “I’m starting to think you’re a dick after all, as I’ve always suspected because you don’t respond” etc. Now, I don’t know about you, but if it were me getting such tweets I sure would’ve felt annoyed to kingdom come and would never even think of responding, if not even going on a blocking spree or efing them publically. It showed me though that not all people getting a kick out of The Bloggess humor are automatically decent, smart folks and worth following. Figure that. Guess you lost a fan in me too, those tweeples I’ve unfollowed. I suspect though you were bothered by this fact exactly as much as Mr. Fillion was bothered losing you:). In his place I would’ve looked at it as not a “fan request”, but as a mean Twitter bullying, trying to make me do some random (remember he’s not IN on the joke) thing based on my celebrity status, not on respecting my acting or personality. Basically trying to make me act like a circus monkey, shaming me into submission and what not, whatever charity is involved. And as Patricia said, besides being an annoying and demeaning thing in itself, it just isn’t a good example to set for other fans. I’m not saying everyone who was making these demands meant to sound like that, I’m just trying to show his (possible) POV.

I guess he could be accused of not doing his research and finding out about Jenny’s awesome blog and all that entails. But again, as was said before, it was too late for that, he probably did it after things stopped being just silly and deteriorated completely (or Wil enlightened him), but responding after getting tones of spam would’ve still been wrong (to me at least). So I was actually dreading the possibility of his bowing down to twine (it would’ve felt like an humiliation and I might’ve lost a lot of respect for him – and Jenny would’ve looked like an ultimate internet bully) and felt quite happy he never did respond, because it could’ve never been pretty LOL. And I felt super relieved after reading his reddit response, which seemed absolutely reasonable and honest to me. That is, before I started reading comments of course.

Some random responses from a high and mighty me to Nater-Tater-Haters on this thread, I am sure you’re all gonna feel properly shamed and see the light of truth after reading this lol.

@ Renee
“This is a guy who had to beg his way into a special cameo on The Guild (his own admission), and heads to panels at Comic-Con.”
I am a huge fan of The Guild, so I guess you refer to their BTS video, which opens with NF admitting that he “begged” Felicia Day to have a cameo on the series, at least as a “strong black woman” etc. Well… I don’t even know where to start (if you’re not joking of course, if you do – my apologies for being dumb). You are probably not The Guild’s targeted audience or you would’ve known that Nathan Fillion is 1 – a very good friend of Felicia and 2 – his cameo’s been quite possibly the most requested one for The Guild and generated a huge web buzz. And I don’t know how to break the news to you, but you probably need to go consult the dictionary to learn the meaning of “self-deprecation”, and also “irony”, “sarcasm” and “humor” while you’re at it. As for your “hint” that participating in SDCC panels is pathetic, well, I’m not gonna judge you after that Guild thing. You’re obviously a bit out of touch with today’s pop-culture, which is totally OK.

To the person who said that Malcolm Reynolds would’ve totally done that goes my respectful LOL. If you asked him to pose with a ball of twine he would’ve punched you in the face and left you for dead on a remote planet. Sorry, I have a pet peeve about mixing up one’s enjoyment of a character and retconning him/her as a nicer person then they are, probably to free one’s conscience of ambivalence.

Some people seem to think that Wil Wheaton done that photobombing thing completely unknown to Nathan Fillion and out of contempt for his evil no-holding-twine ways LOL. Not even going to comment here.

To those who call NF an asshat, a douchenozzle and other pretty names: I hope you’ll realize one day that you come across just as obnoxious, shallow, ill-humored and self-entitled as you seem to believe all celebrities who dare to ignore your requests appear to be. Judging a person you know nothing about (and in many cases don’t care to know) by one random thing you’ve learned (excluding murder, rape and racism) and labeling them “a humorless uncharitable asshat” is absolutely your right as an internet user and a human being, but doesn’t show you in the best of lights.

And people who specifically state they don’t know who Nathan Fillion is and proud of that, and he is obviously not worthy to know about because they don’t know who he is or else they would’ve known who he is… well, OK than, thanks for making your point known (at least that much is known).

To those who stated they never seen and don’t care to see Nathan Fillion in anything and it’s not like he’s Brad Pitt so should’ve complied for publicity reasons, see above. Besides that, you praise other celebrities for being “good sports” and having an awesome sense of humor, yet the one who doesn’t play along you accuse of not caring for publicity. Doesn’t that imply those who did play along might be not that awesome and just did their part in getting free PR whatever their real thoughts are? And doesn’t that kinda negate the initial message of “random awesomeness”?
Others though state that all this time Fillion was falsely projecting a “good guy with a sense of humor” persona as a PR stunt and now it slipped to show us all what an asshat he is. Well, good job, Nater-Tater I say, keeping the charade for 20 years, avoiding scandals, being funny at cons and in interviews, and making people who met or worked with you say the nicest things about you, all the while being a secret dickhead on par with Charlie Sheen (they look alike anyway). Until twine revealed everything. I wish all you people who think that , to be judged one day for a random annoying thing you refused to do that some people around you found awesome and be pronounced a douche by friend and foe alike. Wouldn’t it be funny to go “But I didn’t like it! I didn’t want to do that! It’s totally random and I have the right!” while everybody turn away with a grim expression and say “We were sooo mistaken about you. Turns out you just talked nice, looked nice and your friends all lied about your niceness. If you just did this one thing for us ..”

Also, completely random, but I remember reading several times that Nathan Fillion’s mom always tells him “Sure, you’re not Brad Pitt, but you have your charms” or something like that LOL. Guess she also feels that her son is a “pompous ass” and needs to be taken down a notch. And he is an “idiot”, as was suggested here by a couple of commenters, for telling this story and confirming that he’s no Brad Pitt🙂.

I also find funny that people get angry with NF mentioning gardeners and bag boys both because they think he hints that he is superior to them and it’s “elitist” of him to bring them up at all, and because he’s “paid big bucks to entertain and should shut up and put out” because he is, in fact, superior to them (and they get asked to do silly uncomfortable things all the time anyway). Few haven’t missed the initial meaning that his self-image is that of “a guy doing a job” like any other (not “my craft” or “serious acting bitches” as some here suggested) and that he probably doesn’t make bag boys do awkward humiliating stuff , unlike some commenters here if we go with their logic. And BTW “gardener” is not always an old chap who lives near his master’s castle (pun!), he is usually some random guy who works in a company specializing on tending to people’s gardens when they don’t have time themselves. You know, like carpet cleaning etc. My friend’s parents use their services and they’re not Hollywood celebs, so quit making this look like some “spoiled reach” thing.

BTW my cousin went to SDCC last month and got a handshake and a pic with Nathan Fillion, just randomly meeting him on the street (for those who think that refusing to pose with twine is the same thing as refusing to interact with fans in any way). And he also managed to get into NF’s second Nerd HQ panel (VERY popular event, so much that they had to arrange the second one after the first one sold out literally in a minute) where NF auctioned away for charity different cool things he brought with him and was sufficiently funny and down-to-earth if I do say so myself after watching the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvw3uv5HC0A&feature=relmfu). (For doing panels at Nerd HQ celebs are not paid as far as I know btw).

Yes, I realize my rant went for a great deal longer than is common or than I ever thought possible for me to rant LOL, but I just felt like doing it (and an extensive YouTube research), totally random. I was amazed with this incredible sense of self-entitlement and righteousness both Fillion’s and Jenny’s fans demonstrated here and on reddit, so I thought I’d make a go of trying to convince the former that Jenny is not a “batshit crazy stalker with an over-inflated ego” and the latter that NF has more dimensions than “that ass who refused to hold twine and obviously never does anything for fans of which I am not one”. I understand it’s hopeless, when people decide they want to have a clearly pointed out “enemy” (or “a dick I don’t know and don’t care about”, same thing) nothing’s gonna stop them, I just had to try. Even getting a bit righteous in the process, my own self LOL. I was just really put off by people turning something that was MEANT to be a fun, light-hearted thing of RANDOMENESS into this serious self-entitled quest for somebody to blame and call a dick (and no, it didn’t turn that way because NF didn’t answer). I’ll show myself out.

There have been lots of comments with all sorts of opinions. I second those acknowledging that both Ms Lawson and N F have responded in a polite and respectful manner, but I also agree that I think what sticks in most people’s craws is the tone and the lateness of N F’s response. It is always wise to check and recheck any written response for “tone”. And given that this was a request tied to a charity donation it may have been wise to decline it sooner so that all parties knew where they stood.
Everyone is also entitled to their opinion though, so people are welcome to (and always will) form whatever judgement they wish from the information that they have. And if they want to go on record expressing this judgement, then more power to them (remembering of course that what goes on the internet is there forever).
The comments I find most disturbing are those expressing sentiments similar to/the same as “who’s our next target”. They seem to have missed the original point of Jenny seeking the picture, and also come across as an example of the exact behaviour that N F (and presumably all people) are seeking to avoid.
Perhaps a more apt question would be “What offbeat and funny thing will you do next Ms Lawson?”.

I’m not going to trash him, because it’s totally his prerogative to be fun if he wants to be (and his argument against it was kinda tired.) I just find it highly unfortunate and disappointing that he didn’t play along. After all, he did ComicCon, for which I upped his cool factor by 5 points.

I take back two cool points, Nathan Fillion. Castle would have done it. 😦

This is a toughie bc although I totally agree with gambrinus and truly understand NF; I also am a long time reader of the blogess and have bought her book and think she is 100 kinds of awesome. I understand her irreverent request and find it humorous. The only thing sad here is that NF clearly doesn’t follow Jenny. Truly, it is his loss. I understand his reasoning and although I don’t feel it,I do respect it. At the end of the day it is Jenny’s website I will continue to seek out. I’m sure NFis very talented, but he is not the hook that draws me in. .

Sigh. Well there goes that joke. I do wish he had taken it in a little better humor like so many other awesome people like Simon Pegg. If I ever do make it to SDCC, though, you know I’ll have a ball of twine in my pocket, just in case I run into him and can convince him to take a photo with me. I won’t make him hold it, but at least there will be some kind of picture with Nathan and a ball of twine. ;o)

But I for one still hold out hope that on some job he gets, there’s a writer in on the joke and in the course of a script the man has to hold twine up for the camera for at least 5 seconds…. long enough for a screen shot. Check. Mate.

I have to say, I didn’t even know who Nathan Fillion WAS until you introduced him to your legion of fans, so, not saying that he OWES you one or anything, but I don’t think a picture of him with a fucking ball of twine all of a sudden disrespects his acting career and by the way, WHAT HAS HE DONE AGAIN? His response is gracious and yet there’s just a tone of…I don’t know…pomposity? I don’t know how to classify it. All I know is, I didn’t even know him so he was sort of a zero in my book and with this whole attitude he’s now gone into negative numbers. Take your CRAFT seriously, I get that. But you don’t need to take YOURSELF so seriously. Shit, let’s be real about this: you basically go around pretending to be other people for a living. It’s the same shit 5-year olds do in the backyard when they’re being galactic star rangers or kick-ass princesses, except you get PAID for this shit. Gimme a break.

I, as well, never knew who Nathan Fillion was until I read this blog. The fact that I just scrolled back up to make sure I spelled his name correctly is more than I ought to do, under the circumstances. I think you have handled this magnanimously, and for all the fans who still long to get a picture of him with twine, get a hat, glue some twine to it, and keep it handy. He’ll probably start watching out for a ball of twine or a roll of twine and decline a picture, but if you’re WEARING the twine, he’ll be less likely to notice, and you can claim a hemp fetish if he asks.

I used to like Nathan Fillion because he’s cute as all get-out in Firefly, which is only the best television series ever ever made. Now I’m deeply ambivalent. Really, dude? I must respectfully disagree with those who term his response “classy.”

Here’s what would have been classy: “Thank you all for your interest and following. Respectfully, I decline the request for a photo with twine, though I’m flattered that you asked. I would also appreciate if your fans will stop making the request, as it is becoming a distraction to my career. Thank you.” We really didn’t need to hear how terribly unfair it is that poor Nathan Fillion gets asked to do things that his lucky, lucky gardener does not.

P.S. I changed my mind. Nathan Fillion is brilliant. He’s the architect for a brand new type of fun! I’m going to go get some twine now and start taking pictures of it with the grocery attendant, landscape guy who lives across the street (because I can’t afford a gardener of my own, this is as close as I can get), and car wash attendants.

A part of me has died, but I say way to go to both NF and JL – two classy people to the end. The problem with some of the internet is that they can afford to be like an anchor from Network (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_qgVn-Op7Q) or just a plain old asshat – and no one is around to interrupt, roll their eyes, or say, ‘whoa, there, fellow, it’s a joke, man!” or give them a tranquilizer. It is dangerous to pay the least attention to them. That goes for Jenny, Nathan, and their more reasonable followers.

I was so happy to read this! I thought the whole twine challenge was hilarious, but when Nathan didn’t respond, I started to feel awkward because I’m a fan of both of you. It seemed like there was contention, and I never quite knew who to side with. I know it’s a little thing, but it’s actually lightened my morning knowing that you’re both as classy and cool as ever and I can love both of you in good conscience. Thanks🙂

Jenny – you are awesome sauce for responding to his refusal so graciously and QUICKLY

Nathan’s level of class is diminished by his waiting 1.25 years to respond people. Seriously, why the delay Captain HammerMal? He is off my list for being trapped in a diner during a snowstorm with unlimited coffee and pie.

Jenny you are always welcome to be trapped in the diner with pie, coffee, twine and me. But you know, not permanently…

At first I thought he had a good point, but then I realized his gardner, or the guy at the car wash don’t depend on having fans. Actors have fans and need them or they may not continue to get acting jobs. Fans sometimes make requests, and really gracious actors fulfill some requests out of kindness and also appreciation for their fans. Too bad Nathan doesn’t understand this. I used to be a fan of his, but not so much now!

Nathan Fillion is a douche. To be honest, I had never even HEARD of him until reading your hilarious blog. I have no idea who he is other than some obscure actor who is apparently not a good sport. You know who else I didn’t really know much about but now adore? Wil Wheaton. I mean sure, I love Stand by Me as much as the next girl, but after that, Wil who? I will now go out of my way to support him and his acting endeavors. Live long, Wil. The world needs more non-douchey people like you.

I do love Nathan Fillion. And I like that at least he took the time to explain his reasoning behind not posing with twine. But, it’s not like some crazed fan sent him an email ‘hey, this is Rebecca in Texas and I work in an office and my fantasy is of you holding twine in your underwear. Could you send me a picture so I can masturbate?’ This was a well-known blogger that actually offered money to his charity in exchange for a twine photo. NF could have googled the Bloggess to see she was about, and to see the amount of other celebrities who realized what this was, and were able to enjoy the humor. And while he may not ask his gardener to pose with twine, his gardener is not being paid millions of dollars, being invited to movie premieres, dating models and actresses, being asked for autographs or to appear on Leno. Yes, I understand an actor’s need to feel normal, but he’s really just sounding like he takes himself too seriously.

I think a lot of people who are still Mal-bashing at this point would be doing it even if he HAD provided us with our long-hoped for pic. They would find reasons why his acquiescence after so long revealed some negative traits about him. I’m just happy that he finally acknowledged the request publicly, and lovin’ on Jenny as usual for her sweet response. Now I can go back to thinking they are both awesome without any niggling doubts.

“You know who else I didn’t really know much about but now adore? Wil Wheaton.”
Hear, Hear!!! I kinda disliked him actually because I knew him from STNG, and the character he played there was, um, less than lovable, but now I love him SO MUCH!

By the title of this post, I thought it was going to be about Nathan Fillion being dead, probably killed by twine. I’m very relieved to find such is not the case but also a little sad that he has his own opinions and stuff and doesn’t just do what everyone on the internet tells him to do. And I sort of want to chuck a ball of twine at his head but that’s not very charitable of me and he’s allowed to follow his own beliefs and I understand that he’s disappointing many in order to not disappoint many and while I think it’s bad math, I’ll just have to agree to disgree with him on this point and we’ll go our separate ways. Meaning, I’m leaving his camp and giving all the support I gave to Mr. Fillion to Jon Hamm because I’ll bet he’s more into tomfoolery and shenanigans than other people on the internet. I don’t even know if Jon Hamm hangs out on the internet. As a now full-fledged fan, I should find out.
Anyway, I also wish Mr. Fillion well and hope he has a bright and non-twine-filled future.

You know, despite the fact that it was LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG, I’m glad that I took the time to read gambrinus’ whole post. As a HUGE Whedon fan, I’ve been NF fan for a long time as well and I never really cared about the twine thing one way or the other. In fact, it seems like it turned out better for Jenny and for us than if he HAD held the twine because so many other people got involved and there were shenanigans. I just assumed he wasn’t going to do it and that was that.

That being said, his reply did leave a bad taste in my mouth – until I read gambrinus’ post. I haven’t followed any of this on Twitter b/c I don’t follow that many people and I forget to log in and check my Twitter account all the time, so I wasn’t up on the people who were harassing NF about the twine. Seriously, I would have been much douchier than he was if people had been tweeting me for months saying stupid crap like “I don’t even know who you are, but hold the damn twine already”. In fact, I probably would have SIGHED much sooner and been SNARKY to boot instead of trying to be gracious and having my exasperation leak out anyway.

If I wouldn’t end up completely smashed within 10 minutes, I’d start a drinking game that involved taking a shot every time someone professes to not even know who Nathan Fillion is – like that means he should have to take the picture. Well, plus, it makes me sad that people actually don’t know who he is because in my world, he’s a HUGE star. Which makes sense since I realized, after reading Entertainment Weekly’s feature about cult TV shows, I realize that’s pretty much all I watch. I think that I just assumed that he had become more mainstream famous after Castle.

Anyway, thanks gambrinus, because of you my full-on love for NF has been restored.

I’m a tiny blip of a children’s book author/illustrator, but have done a crater’s-load of stupid things to make my readers happy when I visit schools (kindergarteners always have the best requests.) How sad for what’s-his-name that he has flown so high as to lose sight of some very cool people. I believe we call that hubris.

I’m disappointed…..someday Nathan – whom I LOVE on Castle and thought would be a good sport – you’ll be wishing for the day when you could pose with a ball of twine and make ALL of Jenny’s followers happy. Opportunity lost, sad for you. Time to ask Stana Katic to pose🙂 Jenny, I’ve read your book – twice. Sorry I missed you when you came to NJ/NY! I read an article on your book, read it – cried laughing several times, recommended it to my brother and several friends who have all responded they agree it’s hysterical and a great read, and they are spreading the word. Congrats….I’m waiting for the next!!! (and I’m in HR and made everyone in my dept read that chapter, ’cause yea – I totally have files separated by crazy levels!)

I would like to suggest Elijah Wood for the next twine-holding agenda. OOO! Or Summer Glau! Let’s just go for the whole Serenity crew (EXCEPT Nathan Fillion)!!!! Just throwing out ideas. . . muahahahahaha! We all heart you Jenny. 😀

First of all, Jenny, I think your response is very classy and reasonable. I note that it masterfully walks a line between sincere humility and a subtle sort of ‘I am not just some random fan’ (I only have 1/6 of your legions of twitter followers, am ‘surprisingly’ a best-selling author, I get asked about this all the time at my book signings).

Second, I understand and respect Fillion’s position and was willing move on with only about a 5% deduction in my estimation of how awesome that guy is. But then one of my friends (who I’m pretty sure is unaware of the twine issue) changed his avatar on one of the social medias to a picture of Captain Hammer with the caption, “If at first you try and don’t succeed, you aren’t me.” Now every time I see it I think, “That smug jerk is mocking us.” Just gotta let it go.

Never heard of Nathan Fillion, but I am most concerned – he’s in dire need of an immediate pull-the-giant-stick-out-of-your-ass intervention. Maybe he has some friends who can help him with that, though having read his post, I kinda doubt it.

Just read your book, loved it, funniest thing I’ve read in years, which lead me to this blog, also hilarious. With people like this Fillion guy in the world, you’ll never run out of material. Thanks for the laughs.

I think what probably happened is that he brushed everything off not realizing there were legions of people following the Bloggess. Once he realized, he couldn’t backtrack without looking clueless. OR looking like a fame wh*re who will hold twine to make strangers happy. Next thing you know, people are asking him to hold shakeweights. Or hair curlers. Or a cute little teacup Chihuahua. Where would it end?

SO, he does the only thing he can and makes up a rather smarmy response about how he is an Ac-TOR. (I pictured Jon Lovitz from SNL. “ACT-ING!) I can’t judge him. Fame can be difficult to navigate.

But the truth is, he’s probably sitting at home nights fondling a knotted-up bunch of twine and wishing everything had turned out differently.

Hate to say it, but I think Nater Tater just missed the point of having fans who pay to watch him act and do ridiculous shit. I do bag groceries and I would hold twine if someone asked me and I wouldn’t really give a hoot. I’d be like “Hey! They like my bagging so much they’ve become my FAN!” And I would not take that for granted. Then I would call the police. But that’s because I bag groceries. I think Nater Tater was pompous as hell in his response and I will always love Matthew Broderick and the rest of the awesome actors who saw this was a joke and responded with their own. Nater Tater loses a fan of his “serious” acting career. I will say that his line about being an actor made me think of Laurence Olivier doing Shakespeare.

I am totally OK with how this twine saga ended. Two polite honest responses. What I’m not OK with, is comments here. Name calling, seriously? You look like a bunch of ignorant internet bullies here. Half of commenters don’t know the guy, so assume he’s a shitty actor who should be happy with a possibility of free publicity and doesn’t deserve to have his own opinions/feelings on the matter? You sound the opposite of what The Bloggess is all about, so if anybody “missed a chance to be awesome” it is you. I had a pretty vague notion of who Nathan Fillion is when Jenny first mentioned him, turned out I only knew him from Doctor Horrible. But at least I was polite and respectful when I tweeted him about twine, once. From the tone of these comments I can imagine what some people wrote him, no wonder he got annoyed. And I don’t see his answer as pompous or smarmy (and where does he mention “serious acting” for chrissake?). I see a guy who got annoyed with (what he felt) people trying to use him for his celebrity, who, as somebody mentioned, wasn’t in on this joke, and who has his own code of conduct which doesn’t include fulfilling every audience whim if he doesn’t find it worth doing himself. I thought he expressed all this in a polite (though, yes, some amount of annoyance leaked through), honest manner, trying to cushion it some by explaining his motives and generalizing to get his point across in the least offensive possible way. But I guess interpretations are subjective. And if we want to play the game of “us vs. them”, we will find, or make, “them”.

I swear these comments made me fucking depressed. I don’t feel “in” with this crowd anymore, so I better take a break from the Blog.

Nope. Still not as classy as Jenny. I’m going to hide behind my robe of commenter anonymity and call horse nuggets – what a lame way to rain on your fabulous, fabulous parade. I totally get why you’re being #1 A-grade gracious, Jenny, because you literally exist in the world to make everyone feel better about themselves, even Hater-Taters who don’t enjoy twine. But I say: get Joss Whedon to cast him in a role that requires him to hold twine for at LEAST one episode. Only do it anonymously, so you can be like “me? Oh no, I certainly had nothing to do with it. I was busy playing checkers with Beyonce and Juanita.” And Hater-Tater would be all “Bam! Checkers is a TWO PERSON GAME!” and you could be all “Uhhhhh…do you THINK a metal chicken can hold checkers in his wings? Juanita’s his pinch-checker. Way to make fun of the hands-less, Nater.”

End scene.

P.S. I’m a Bloggess-commenting virgin, so I thought I’d point out: due to a massively confusing backstory, I am a newlywed with a Master’s degree currently living in a tiny Texas town at a chicken processing plant. You are sometimes the only happy spot in our otherwise insane lives full of ex-cons (my coworkers), sexist bigot bosses (should BE cons, really) and a lack of any restaurant more exciting than Cheddar’s. So forgive me if I get a little defensive on your behalf.

Pity the poor minimum-wage gardener working for Nathan Fillion, wilting in the hot LA sun while boss Nathan rants about how tough it is to be an AC-tor, hands tightening ’round your ball of gardening twine while you eye the soft soil under the roses…I think dear Nathan has supplied a most deserving candidate for your $750 charity photo shoot…its either that or put the money into the Nathan Fillion Gardener Defense Fund, in case you don’t get to the gardener in time….

Just realized that my comment totally makes it seem like we live AT the processing plant. While that would be infinitely more hilarious, it would be untrue. That’s what I get for hurriedly typing comments on my iPhone, huddling under my cubicle desk because the phone charger cord I borrowed from a coworker (this one hasn’t been in prison) is frayed at the ends and I can’t stretch it long enough to remain upright at my desk. Do you SEE how much we love you, Jenny Lawson??

Long time reading, first time writing blah-blah-blah, just wanted to ask people to chill, lol. So Jenny and Nathan didn’t understand each other with the twine issue, so what? Not like it’s a gender rights or who’s to blame for WW2 issue or something. I thought they both handled it with class, in the end. Personally, I can see how Fillion’s response could be taken as “pompous” and too serious and what not, and I also get how The Bloggess might be seen as a crazy stalker using “an army of self-entitled drones” to push her “forced randomness” on unsuspecting celebs , lol. (All not my words). It all depends on having the right context and where your primary loyalties are. As for me, nobody “lost me as a fan” lol. I will continue reading this blog (and the book) because I dig Jenny’s humor, and I will continue watching (and reading) Nathan Fillion because I dig his acting and his sense of humor (believe me he has one, just watch blooper reels for any of his shows). I think it’s funny that some folks feel that they have to choose sides like it’s actual war or something, lol. Boyscout camps were fun, but I don’t really long for them to return. Grown-up life and grown-up people are messed up, complicated and different, and there’s fun to be had with that too. (And, have to admit I couldn’t be in a tribe that makes me stan for Mathew Broderick’s acting anyway, so there)..

Well, considering that I had never heard of the guy (and i’m sure that could be said by many) until your blog, i think the guy should lighten the fuck up. WOW, someone takes himself WAY to seriously! And now, he can go back to no one caring about him anymore!

I completely understand Nathan Fillion’s comments regarding actors. I’ve lived most of my life in LA, and have seen many actors in day-to-day situations. I learned not to bug them publicly from Chevy Chase who completely ignored me as he stared at me in an empty parking garage then looked away stone-faced, my twelve-year-old self smiling and waving to him. My step-dad who was with me at the time said some actors like to be left alone. So, I know not to bother actors.

But Nathan Fillion tries to come off as a nice and fun guy in the public eye. From his response, he clearly is not. It seems duplicitous to me, and every time I see him do something nice and/or fun, a little voice in the back of my head is going to ask, “does he mean it, or is he just acting?” That part of me is very sad.

While I’m going to be eternally sad knowing that a twining NF pic won’t be gracing my desktop EVER, I don’t see what’s the big deal. To tell the truth,I am surprised at the outrage. So the guy didn’t get this particular joke, and who can blame him really, considering the circumstances? He got plenty of other jokes and will get lots more in the future. Doesn’t make him a monster. I think some of us took his response and ran with it, too far. What’s this medieval gardeners talk? It was clear to me that he meant his job was like any other job, and he doesn’t feel any more special than a gardener. That’s debatable, sure , but how this simple statement turned into its opposite I don’t understand:). Oh well..

You’re a much better person than I am. I really do see his point – but, really? Grow up, you self-righteous. So, if I understand it correctly, you want to be an actor, so people will pay attention to you, but when they do, you want to ignore them, and whine about it.

Sad times. I’ve been following the saga of Nathans twine holding refusal since the beginning, and though you have to respect the man’s decision, it’s somewhat dissapointing that he didn’t want to play ball – or twine, as the case actually is – and raise $750 for charity.

I’ve loved Nathan Fillion since “Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” and…honestly? This makes me like him a little less. Don’t get me wrong – he has every right to refuse. But his explanation sounds really snobby. Wil Wheaton and countless other celebrities have found two moments to snap a pic of themselves doing something silly for you. They know they’re famous ’cause of people who would do those kinds of silly things. Nathan Fillion would do well to remember that too.

Respectfully declining is not as fun as a picture, but much better than being an asshat. I see you have had offers, I will add to them, I’ll pose with twine. Unfortunately for you no one would care.
Also, your response was full on lovely, great work. Not surprising, you always do great.

Well I think he’s a dick and obviously has gotten too big for his britches. He’s on my hate list now. He’s much too important for twine, his fans and pictures. He probably hates kittens too. Nathan Fillion you suck and that makes me sad :o(

Eh, he’s an asshat. He’s too good for some good hearted fun? Or is he allergic to twine? And cameras?

What about ALL the other stars, including Matthew Broderick, who sent you photos of themselves holding spoons or spatulas? MB is a MUCH bigger star than Nathan Fillion and has accomplished much more in his career. He STILL sent you a picture, as did how many other well-known actors?

I say you ask Matthew Broderick, and his wife SJP, to send you pictures of themselves holding twine. I’ll bet THEY wouldn’t feel put-upon by some crazed fan.

Whatever, Mr. Sighing Horribly Put-Upon Actor Man. You got your start playing a teenager who was boning his Mom’s same-aged worst enemy and your current job is playing a writer who treats the police force as a personal entertainment toy. You aren’t enlightening the world with Great Stories here.

I guess I can see his point, but I definitely do not agree with it. Of course people don’t ask their gardener to do something silly like that, because no one knows who your gardener is! When you’re famous, especially for thugs with as devoted fan bases as Dr. Horrible and Firefly, you have to understand that this sort of thing goes with the territory. He’s famous because of his fans; the least e could do was take a fucking picture (minimal effort) to make them smile. I wish he was a better sport. Kind of ruined himself for me….

I too understand where he is coming from, however, the manner in which he stated it and the examples that he gives, seems to me to be a slam on those celebrities that went ahead and did it. Several of whom weren’t even ASKED to. Just like any person, famous or not, you have the right to chose which “demands” you give into.
I will be unable to watch Castle this season without thinking about the lack of twine.

No clue who this guy is but he sounds like a d-bag with a big stick up his butt. He needs to remember how celebrities become popular, their fans! Taking two seconds out of your day for a quick picture doesn’t seem like much to ask considering where his fans have gotten him.

I’m glad he responded and you are classy. He will remain one of my favorites and I of course respect his point of view, however… As demonstrated by the leigion of celebrities just as big as he in their own right who participated without the charity incentive, for no reason other than a bit of fun, he could have just done it. I think he has been traumatized in the past trying to answer fan requests. It’s the only reason I can think of why he wouldn’t have just done a simple thing that wasn’t just for one person, but for a whole group of fans just like meeting them at CONs and such. Ah well, respecting you and him, I will try my level best to let the subject rest.

Maybe a silly fan request touched him inappropriately when he was a child. because traumatization is the only reason I can think of why he wouldn’t do something so simple that other celebrities just as big as he is in their own right did without the incentive of charity. It’s all in good fun but, out of the great respect I have for you and him, I will try my best to let this subject rest. Love to you guys!

No, I don’t think he was putting down “twine celebs” at all. His point is that he cares about being “fair” to everybody, so if he does one request he feels he needs to do other ones as well, but not every celeb thinks so. That’s true, some celebrities rarely or never tweet Happy Birthdays to fans, and others often do, making some people happy, clogging twitter timelines and raising expectations. Just two different strategies.

And BTW for those who want to try Bruce Campbell next. I once attended his panel and when somebody from the audience randomly asked him to say “Groovy!”, he said “No, I’m not your monkey” and got sort of angry. So I wouldn’t be so sure in a positive response from him, heh heh. And overall, after reading through some of the comments here, have to say I am surprised at how far the “mob mentality” can lead the idea of “fun and random”. May be it would be better to let fun happen randomly and naturally, without forcing and shaming?

Joke or not – and it was pretty funny when it started – some of your fans are taking it too seriously.
It was gracious enough that Nathan finally responded, now we just going to have to respect it. If he wants to find or do other ways to raise money for charity, he can as his right, just as is his right to refuse a request.
Public-image or not, as fans we do not own him – which seems to be the misconception with some people.

Just stumbled on your blog and read the first half of your chapter 1 – chapter 1.5 or that was once considered a chapter but now something that can substitute a day at the chair infront of a psychiatrist. I raise you the weirdness surrounding the ‘arson’ incident. Frankly, it intrigued me more that you celebrate weird – it’s about time!

hey, not so fast! I worked with Nathan fillion, he’s a super swell guy, one of the best I’ve met here! don’t be rude, people. If somebody didn’t appreciate your joke, doesn’t mean they’re a dick. Jeeez, you’re five or what?

I hate to admit that I read the Nathan-bashing with great pleasure. I’ve watched some of his “performances” at Comicon, etc., and can see right thru him. Whereas some see him as just a big old nice lug, I see him as an oxygen-sucking narcissistic self-promoting gas-bag. Really, would he even show up at panel events if he had to play second fiddle outside of the limelight to some other narcissistic self-promoter? Doubtful. And BTW, grow the eff up Nathan. A 40-year-old guy still hanging out at Comicon just looks stupid. Reminds me of Al Bundy and his insistence on constantly re-living high school football.

BTW, Nathan, some of us don’t even have gardeners. And if we did? They most likely would have some twine and let us take their pic with it.

This is why I follow Jeri Ryan and don’t follow Nathan Fillion.

And BTW, Nathan, you aren’t going to get another leading gig until you stop looking like a dough boy. So maybe we need to ask you to take your picture with a personal trainer.

What a load of BS. People are seriously calling someone who refused to take a pic holding twine for shits and giggles, a douche? Asking once was fine, I’ll give you that. But being so persistent and annoying for a YEAR smells all kinds of douchey in itself, and then call the celeb a douche for refusing? I don’t understand this game, sorry.

The more I read about Nathan the less I like him. I wish I hadn’t ever Googled him. So disappointing. He missed the point of the twine question … ya think? Sheesh. All he had to say was, ‘No thank you. I have twine-a-phobia.” It would have taken MUCH less time than his essay on the hassles of fame, and it would have been playful in spirit.

Forget Nathan doing free photos…
I paid for a PhotoOp with him, for my wife. He is pompous and unfriendly. Thinks he is funny but is not. Joke on us. Nathan was not there. An emotionless, unfriendly, non-speaking robot that looked a lot like Nathan Fillion was there. Got the photo, with Nathan’s lookalike robot. But the robot never looked at her when she approached for the photo, nor when she left. The vocal circuitry was apparently damaged too and the Nathan robot never said hi, never aknowledged her thank you, never acknowledged her presence, never indicated any sign that it knew she was there other than posing for the photo. Everyone out there… skip this robot and use photo editing tools to place yourself in a photo with Nathan Fillion. If you want to feel like you’re in Nathan Fillion’s presence just stand in front of one of those department store mannequins. Save your money.

He also thought it was funny to blow his nose and put the used kleenex in a woman’s hand and then close her hand around it.

I don’t think those who gobble up rlde up every piece of moldy chicken feed t about this guy, who can be a funny, quirky guy who has a palpable sadness in his eyes that pops in and out of his work OR what a really FINE ACTOR HE IS.Watch his domestic scenes with the brilliant Susan Sullivan, and with that gorgeous growing-up daughter, and tell me if you’ve EVER seen a cop show with sequences of such humor and compassion. I’m not absolutely certain,but I feel strongly that he could do some really memorable stage work. And as they say in Dublin, “Fuck the begrudgers!”
James McCourt, American writer.

I will be brief and brutally honest…. Nathan Fillion is a jerk. I have learned this from many statements by his former co-stars as well as his current co-stars and it seems to be true. Apparently he has his head up his ass. Well if you all had any sense you would stop being fans of Mr. Fillion because he does not seem to care about his fans or friends either, if he even has any. I’ve heard some pretty nasty things about Nathan, I will be honest….. I’ve had a couple celebrity friends…. one was very, very famous….. he had a lot of garbage rumors passed around about him that weren’t true but some were….. i’m sure Nathan Fillion has his own share of rumors, true or not true….. still he does seem to be an ass, it is a recurring statement from his co-stars.

All in the Family: Courtney LeBlanc's poetry chapbook is an honest and raw look into the dynamics of family relationships, the good, the bad, and the oh-so ugly; it'll make you cringe, cry, laugh, smile, and appreciate the relationships you have with your family.